Chapter 33

Front 1

What is software scope?

Back 1

It describes the function and features that are going to be delivered to end users. This includes the data (inputs & outputs), the content generated by the software and the performance, constraints, interfaces, and reliability that bounds the system.

Front 2

Scope is defined by using which 2 techniques?

Back 2

1) When we are done communicating with all of the stakeholders,we develop a description of the software scope.

2) A set of use cases is developed by the end users.

Front 3

Estimation shouldn't be conducted in a haphazard manner. How to we make a proper estimation?

Back 3

In order to make an estimate of the resources, cost and schedule needed for a software engineering effort, we require past experience, access to good historical information (process & project metrics) and the courage to commit to quantitative predictions when qualitative information is all that we have.

Front 4

What strongly influences information risk?

Back 4

* Project complexity

* Project size

* Degree of structural uncertainty

* Availability of historical information

Front 5

What are the three major categories of software engineering resources?

Back 5

* People (Human Resources)

* The Development Environment

* Reusable Software Components

Front 6

What are the 4 characteristics of a resource?

Back 6

* a description of the resource

* a statement of availability

* the time when a resource will be required

* the duration that a resource will be applied/used for

Front 7

Why do we use decomposition techniques to decompose the problem?

Back 7

Software project estimation is a form of problem solving and it is difficult to solve a complex problem in one piece. Thus, we have to decompose the problem into a smaller, more manageable set of problems.

Front 8

The accuracy of a software project estimate is based on what?

Back 8

1) The degree to which you have properly estimated the size of the product to be built

2) The ability to translate the size estimate into human effort, calendar time and money

3) The degree to which the project plan reflects the abilities of the software team

4) The stability of the environment that supports the software engineering effort and the stability of the project requirements

Front 9

Explain Software sizing.

Back 9

A project estimate is only as good as the estimate of the size of the work to be completed.

Size can be estimated by considering the type of project and it's application domain, the functionality delivered, the number of components to be delivered, the degree to which a set of existing components must be modified for the new system etc.

Size can be measured directly with Lines of Code or indirectly with function points. We can combine all the results of these sizing approaches to gain an expected-value estimate.

Front 10

What is problem based estimation? (for understanding purposes)

Back 10

The project planner begins with a bounded statement of software scope and from this statement attempts to decompose software into problem functions that can each be estimated individually. LOC or FP's is then estimated for each problem function.

Front 11

Lines of Code and Function Point data are used in which two ways during software project estimation?

Back 11

1) They are Used as estimation variables to "size" each element of the software

2) They are used as baseline metrics collected from past projects and used in conjunction with estimation variables to develop cost and effort projections

Front 12

What is process based estimation?

Back 12

The estimate is based on the process that will be used. The process is decomposed into a small set of activities, tasks and actions and then we estimate the effort required to accomplish each one.

Front 13

Explain estimation with use cases.

Back 13

An Estimation approach using use cases has challenges. This is because the use cases have different formats and are written at many different levels of abstraction. It is however possible to compute Use Case Points (UCPs) in a manner that is analogous to the computation of function points.

Front 14

The computation of use case points must take which characteristics into account?

Back 14

* The number and complexity of the use cases in the system

* The number and complexity of the actors on the system

* Various nonfunctional requirements that are not written as use cases

* The environment in which the project will be developed

Front 15

Estimation for Object-Oriented Projects - Lorenz + Kidd suggest which approach?

Back 15

1) Develop estimates using effort decomposition, FP analysis and any other method that is applicable for conventional applications

2) Using the requirements model, develop use cases and determine a count. Recognize that the number of use cases may change as the project progresses

3) From the requirements model, determine the number of key classes

4) Categorize the type of interface for the application and develop a multiplier for support classes. Then multiply the number of key classes by the multiplier to obtain an estimate for the number of support classes.

5) Multiply the total number of classes (support & key) by the average number of work units per class. (15 to 20 days )

6) Cross check the class based estimate by multiplying the average number of work units per use case

Front 16

Which approach can be used to adapt function points for WebApp estimation?

Back 16

Front 17

What does the estimation of resources, cost and schedule for a software engineering effort require?

Back 17

* Experience* Access to good historical information (metrics)* The courage to commit to quantitative predictions even when we only have qualitative information