Towards a toolbox for cost-calculation in the pre-requirements phase

Efficient and precise estimation of project costs even before a project has started is a challenging task. Unfortunately, this is common practice for small and medium sized enterprises (SME) when applying for projects. Without budget (effort) and based on a minimal set of facts SME have to calculate a proposed project’s effort without having the confidence that the proposal will be granted. Therefore, in this paper the idea of a methodology is presented that consists out of a toolbox, leveraging on the one hand to make an efficient estimation and to present the facts on which decisions will be made as well. Using the principle of reuse, SME can use this toolbox to create mockups/prototypes out of the shelf along with an estimation of the project costs that are derived from the according experience factory. Efficiency, understandability of the feature scope, and understandability of the estimated costs will characterize the generated view on the project proposal.