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SCHEDULING REVISITED

by George Martin

Start ý Experience Required? ý An Example ý Requirements ý Estimating ý User Interface ý Breaking it Down ý Sources and PDF

ESTIMATING

Letýs first attempt to estimate the software. The first thing to do is to put this all into a spreadsheet so you can get accurate totals and keep track of changes (see Table 1). I never really learned how to use Microsoft Wordýs outlining capabilities, so a spreadsheet is easier for me to work with and modify. You now have a starting point to optimize.

The next step is to review the numbers. For each of the items, my estimate includes design, coding, compiling, unit testing, and system testing. Unit testing is testing the modules with custom inputs that cover the design issues. For example, in unit testing file names, I would try to enter valid names (both short and long) and also invalid names (perhaps some file names typically found on Macintosh systems or UNIX systems). Thereýs no telling what mistakes the typical user might make.

My goal at to this point is to get something on paper that covers the software. I can now check to see if I left out anything and review the amount of work that I have estimated. So, letýs take a more detailed look at how I arrived at these initial estimates.

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