The following are the bullet points from Dan’s paper on estimating best practices. Using these best practices can increase project success dramatically.
- Decide Why You Want An Estimate
- Map Estimation Goals To Estimate Process Maturity & Develop Plan To Achieve The Maturity
- Have A Documented, Repeatable Estimation Process
- Evaluate Total Ownership Cost; Not Just Development
- Estimate A Range And Pick A Point For The Plan
- Re-estimate The Program When It Changes
- Avoid Death Marches: Programs With Unachievable Schedules Are Likely To Fail And Drain Morale
- Keep A History: Start An Enterprise Database NOW
- Business Case: Evaluate ROI In Addition To Costs
- Convert Expert Spreadsheets Into A Common Language
- Make The Estimating Process As Simple As Possible; But No Simpler
- Be Proactive: The Process Is Important, The Tools Go Along With The Process
- Get Buy-in From Program Managers
- Hold People Accountable: Center Of Excellence Can Prepare Estimate But Program Managers Must Own Them
- Tie The Estimate To The Plan
- Track Progress Vs. Estimate Throughout The Life Cycle
- Estimate Schedule As Well As Effort (Cost) For Complete Picture
- Tie The Business Case Into The Estimating Process
- Attack Non-productive Rework As Part Of The Process
- Have clear definitions: What does complete mean. What activities are included and excluded (E.g. development only or total ownership; help desk included or excluded, etc.) Which labor categories are included and excluded in the estimate (e.g. are managers included? Help desk? Etc.)
- Don’t ignore IT infrastructure and IT services costs
- Tracking defect sources can go along with the process
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