The Evolution of Software Estimating

Exponential improvements in software development environments and increased vulnerability to security couple with an ever widening circle of applicable uses for software in large scale systems. Add to this the growing trend toward non-traditional methods of delivering software solutions such as outsourcing software development, integrating commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions, and incorporating open source solutions and you wind up with software estimating challenges that transcend the current state of the art of estimating. This paper explores some of the effects that changing technologies have forced into the software estimation process. It presents the software estimator with some practical insights for assessing the impacts of new technologies, methods, tools and constraints on the productivity of a software development project. The methods presented will highlight the fundamentals of software estimating in light of the state of the art of software technology.