AUDIENCE:   Project Managers, Team Leaders, Developers and anyone who wishes to enhance their knowledge of estimating including industry-standard techniques. PREREQUISITES:   There are no prerequisites for this course. DURATION:   2 days. OBJECTIVES:   When was the last time you were part of a software development project that completed on time, on budget, on quality and met the relevant requirements? If you can’t remember, or if it’s never happened, perhaps this course can help. One of the biggest challenges in project work is estimating – especially to the exacting expectations of managers and other stakeholders. This course outlines the problems associated with estimating software development projects – especially the degree of uncertainty associated with estimates. The course attempts to provide solutions in a number of ways, particularly the use of appropriate industry-standard techniques. Finally, the course covers communication of estimates to stakeholders including the use of simplified statistical analysis to optimise subsequent decision-making. The objectives of this course are to enable particpants to: - Understand the challenges associated with estimating so that good decisions may be made about what, when and how to estimate. - Be aware of the different sources and scale of errors associated with different types of estimates. - Apply appropriate estimating techniques and approaches within projects of different sizes and complexity. - Be able to communicate estimates to stakeholders in a manner which everyone understands and accepts as an optimum approach. COURSE CONTENT:   Estimating Concepts What Is an Estimate? What do we Estimate? When to Estimate Problems with Estimation Estimating and Planning Accuracy of Estimates Estimates and Project Control Estimation and Error Sources of Uncertainty The Cone of Uncertainty Development Processes Unstable Requirements Omitted Activities Optimism Subjectivity and Bias Unwarranted Precision Project Influences Estimating Approaches and Techniques Top Down Estimating Bottom Up Estimating Apportionment Estimation by Analogy Estimating with Ranges Weighted Average Wideband Delphi Function Points Use Case points Proxy-based Estimates Source Lines of Code Estimating Challenges Limitations of current techniques Historical Data Using Project Data to Refine Estimates Selling Estimates to Stakeholders Use of Statistics in Estimating Probability and 3-point estimates JJ10/09