Monday, April 2, 2007

Software Estimation - great book!

Software Estimation: Demystifying the Black Art
by Steve McConnell


I'm about 1/3 of the way through the book and it's A GREAT BOOK and GOOD READ. The discussion on Over Estimating vs. Under Estimating is worth the $ and the time in itself. What are the cost, risk and overall project benefits between underestimating a project compared to overestimating? Steve M. gets into it - you may agree or not agree, but the reasoning, historic data, research, etc. provides a lot to think about. Without a good estimate, project justification, planning, etc. has no legs to stand on. Tired of throwing the dice/spinning the wheel in getting an estimate? I think this book provides more common sense guidance then I've read in a long time.

2 comments:

  1. Meade, that is a good book. As is McConnell's "Code Complete." "Mythical Man Month" is another. One of the fathers of this science, of course, is Barry Boehm with his estimation research and publication.

    We've launched a hosted estimation engine by standing on the shoulders of previous giants as well as adding our own sauce. Its called Planix - http://planixonline.com - ... Would love your feedback.

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  2. I took a look at your product - and it seems similiar to the estimation tool from the author of Software Estimation - Steve McConnell. The software he put together can be found at: http://www.construx.com/Page.aspx?hid=497

    -meade

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