Page 143 - DCAP304_DCAP515_SOFTWARE_PROJECT_MANAGEMENT

Unit 6: Effort Estimation

This is the first time that the grouping has gone to a town other than metros and three Notes
bellwether industry locations in south India.
According to Mr Mittal, the term “recession” is being loosely bandied about to qualify the
times we are in.
This is unwarranted, he said, adding that unlike in 2008, the situation can be only described
“uncertain” at best. The private sector in the US is still doing well.
Mr Pawar concurred with this view, substantiating it in terms of numbers. In 1990, software
exports amounted to $1 billion.

This was followed by a decade described as the “golden age” when, during 1990-2000, the
exports figure jumped to $8.2 billion.
The subsequent decade, which has just passed, witnessed a growth nine times over to $75
billion.
In doing so, it survived the 9/11 tragedy, the Mumbai terrorist attack aftermath and the
year 2008 recession.
So there’s no reason to doubt the resilience of the industry in doing what it has been till
now.

According to Mr V. K. Mathews, Executive Chairman, IBS Group, and a member of the
Executive Council, the India BPO sector still enjoyed the cost advantage.
“Uncertain” times also call for belt tightening, which will bring the US and European
companies looking to offshore work even more.
Mr Mittal conceded that the deal sizes may have shrunk in size, but the volumes are being
maintained.
“We are finding traction in transformational deals as companies increasingly look to
move applications to cloud, mobile and social media platforms,” he said.

6.8 Summary

 MANY PEOPLE HAVE REFERRED TO ESTIMATION AS A “BLACK ART.” This makes
some intuitive sense: at first glance, it might seem that estimation is a highly subjective
process.
 Inaccurate estimates and misconceptions about the estimating process often contribute to
failed projects.
 When infeasible plans are implemented, the result is often missed deadlines, inadequate
performance and/or poor quality.

 Project work estimation has three phases: the initial first cut, commonly known as SWAG
(scientific wild-ass guess), tracking the estimate against the actual numbers, and using the
schedule to see what’s happening in your project.

 If you’ve been assigned project estimates, or if your project estimates aren’t particularly
close to reality, don’t fret. Try these techniques to make and learn about your estimates.

 Software systems, unless they are thoroughly understood, can be like an ice berg. They are
becoming more and more difficult to understand.
 Improvement of coding tools allows software developers to produce large amounts of
software to meet an ever expanding need from users.

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