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Taking the Mystery Out of OO Estimation

Workshop 170 minutes

Identifying the key influences on the accurate estimation of OO projects.

Rob Day

Tom de Marco has suggested that there is no "softwarecrisis" - rather the real crisis is in estimation. We rarely get it right and even if we could deliver an accurate estimate no-one would believe us. The ODeT OO estimation tool embraces a process that seems able to master some of these difficulties. The ODeT process will be used in the workshop as a framework for discussion of the key issues in the effective estimation of OO projects.

Rob Day (RobDay@compuserve.com)

ODeT Ltd.

Rob is a specialist consultant with a focus on the linkage ofbusiness to IT, software project management and OO. Rob is an experienced trainer/mentor in OO methods and project management, and has conducted audits of a wide range of IT shops and OO developments. With ODeT Rob has developed an estimation tool for OO projects.

Topics

classes and use cases as proxies for effort
the ability to scope the project early enough for serious planning
the impact of reuse & legacy -- the influence of technology
CASE, GUI builders & automated code generation
persistence mechanisms
middleware -- the impact of different types of application
distributed client/server applications
web-based applications
realtime/embedded applications -- the importance of people
training, mentoring and learning curves
team structuring
large projects & geographical dispersal

Benefits

Delegates will leave the workshop with a better appreciation ofthe factors that need to be juggled when planning OO projects. It is intended that delegates should share their own insights based upon practical experience. A paper summarising the key points for debate will be provided prior to the session. Additional material will be provided during the session and conclusions will be made available as a poster.

Session: Workshop 170 minutes Level: intermediate
Audience: OO project managers and team leaders Max 25% maximum number of participants

Material

Paper on the ODeT approach to estimation structured around the session discussion topics plus additional notes to help guide the sub-topic debates

Delivery

Poster(s) capturing key insights and conclusions

Format

Each technical section will be a round-table (or around-the-flipchart) discussion.

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Session: Workshop 170 minutes	Level: intermediate
Audience: OO project managers and team leaders	Max 25% maximum number of participants