Posted on January - 27 - 2009
Welcome to the Baseline
So, you’ve checked over all of your initial data, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. You’ve double checked with the client and you know exactly what they think that they want. And you’ve plugged all of that carefully measured data into your software estimation program of choice and hit the enter key.
Congratulations and welcome to the baseline!
You’re now at the moment where if nothing changes (they will) and everything goes according to plan (they won’t), this is exact estimate of cost, team-size, and time relating to your project.
It’s a sound idea to take a good look at the baseline estimate before releasing it either internally or to the client on the offhand chance that there was an actual mistake on the initial data collection. If you’ve worked on similar projects before, and you have previous baseline estimates, these can be helpful for a quick comparison.
If everything appears to be in order, then the fun begins – the collection of “What if”s that can skillfully whittle down a baseline estimate into a lean, productive, completed project that lands under-budget and ahead of time.
Software Sizing, Estimation, and Risk Management is a practical, hands-on discussion of the software estimation, planning and control process. It addresses critical factors that affect estimates, methods for selecting and applying appropriate measures to projects, proper software sizing, processes to identify and manage risk, and best practices to avoid problems and develop successful project plans.