Category: Cost Engineering

If you’re in charge of cost estimating for software development projects, there are several potential oversights you could make that may lead to faulty estimates and unwanted cost surprises.

Neither the agile philosophy nor the CMMI is prescriptive as to how the software is developed, but there is no reason the two cannot be successfully applied in tandem.

One of the biggest challenges estimators face is defending their estimates. You may trust in your estimate, but how do you get others on board who might be unfamiliar with parametric estimating? Showing comparisons of your project to similar completed projects is one of the best methods of defending your choice of inputs and your final results. It’s also a method that nearly everyone understands. Unfortunately, relevant, high quality data to compare with isn’t always available.

So what are we really talking about when we talk about cloud computing? “The cloud” is a generally accepted euphemism for the Internet.

If you don’t have a standard process you need to develop one or follow one like the Government Accountability (GAO) Cost Estimating Process. The GAO Cost Estimating Process consists of twelve (12) steps. Each step builds upon the others to develop a comprehensive and complete cost estimate.