Software Sizing, Estimation, and Risk Management: When Performance is Measured Performance Improves

To achieve consistent software project success under the pressures of today's software development environment, software organizations require achievable plans including viable estimates of schedule, resources, and risks. To estimate realistically, you must understand how to apply sound estimation processes, tools, and data. Software Sizing, Estimation, and Risk Management: When Performance is Measured Performance Improves is a practical, hands-on discussion of the software estimation, planning, and control process. This includes critical factors that impact estimates, methods for selecting and applying appropriate measures to projects, proper software sizing, and processes to identify and manage risk. The authors use their expertise in sizing, estimation, process engineering, and risk management to clearly demonstrate problems that make many estimates crumble and solutions that provide successful project plans. The book offers insight not available anywhere else, enabling you to recognize and avoid downstream impacts resulting from poor estimates.

About the Authors

Daniel D. Galorath has over 35 years of experience in the software industry where he has solved a variety of management, costing, systems, and software problems, and performed all aspects of software development and management. Mr. Galorath is founder and president of Galorath Incorporated, maker of the SEER suite of estimation tools.

Galorath Incorporated has developed tools, methods, and training for software cost, schedule, risk analysis, and management decision support. Mr. Galorath is one of the principal developers of the SEER-SEM Software Estimation Model and has been involved in the concepts and evolution of the SEER suite of models. He has participated in numerous software sizing and costing studies, both using his company's tools and performing such studies manually.

One of Mr. Galorath's strengths has been reorganizing troubled software projects, assessing their progress, applying methodology and plans for completion, and managing them to completion. In this role, he applied the earned value, cost and schedule management, and defect tracking techniques discussed in this book. He has created and implemented software management policies, and reorganized (as well as designed and managed) development projects.

Mr. Galorath's teaching experience includes development and presentation of courses in software cost, schedule, and risk analysis; software management; software engineering; systems architecture; and others. He has lectured internationally and is the author of many papers about software project management and software cost, schedule, and risk analysis. Among these published works are papers encompassing software cost modeling, testing theory, software life cycle error prediction and reduction, and software and systems requirements definition.

Mr. Galorath completed his undergraduate work and MBA from California State Universities. He is a member of the International Society of Parametric Analysis (ISPA), Society of Cost Estimation and Analysis (SCEA), IEEE, the International Function Point Users Group (IFPUG), and the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM). He was honored with the Freiman Award, recognizing his long-term contributions to the field of parametric analysis.

Michael W. Evans is an executive vice president of American Systems Corporation, responsible for software and software risk management programs. He founded and served as president of Integrated Computer Engineering, Inc. (ICE), where he worked on software risk management approaches, software technical, management, and risk project assessments. His IT and software experience extends back to 1963 when he worked on the development and modification of compilers for the U.S. Army and then for Univac. During the ensuing years, he worked with IBM, Litton Industries, Ford Aerospace, and other companies in development, documentation, and application of standards, processes, and process improvement. As an adjunct to this effort, he developed and implemented a quantitative and objective assessment process.

Mr. Evans founded Expertware Inc. and, among other activities, worked with NASA, supporting the Software Management and Productivity Council for over four years. In this capacity he developed Versions 3 and 4 of the NASA software standard applied as an agencywide requirement. In the late 1980s, he founded CANDCA Associates, which later became ICE.

He was a founding member of the Software Program Managers Network (SPMN). He is a member of the Airlie Council, a group of industry leaders who advised the U.S. Department of Defense on practices and other areas that focused on project improvement and improvement in the bottom line metrics of cost schedule, quality, and user satisfaction. SPMN has over 10,000 members and at its peak was involved with more than 250 large-scale software programs across the DoD.

Mr. Evans is experienced in providing direct technical services and support in software engineering methods and processes, software standards, quality assurance, and configuration management, and testing. He is the author of over 250 papers along with Principles of Productive Software Management, Productive Test Management, Software Quality Assurance and Management, and The Software Factory published by John Wiley & Sons.