SOFTWARE ESTIMATING AND METRICS - A PRAGMATIC APPROACH

This paper reviews current software estimating practice, with particul ar emphasis on practical experiences of software size and cost estimat ion in a military simulation environment. A key issue in any form of e stimation is the gathering of information on which the estimate can be based. The activities associated with these metrics data and their re lationship to the software estimation process ave also described. Alth ough the paper focuses on the techniques required to estimate software for military simulation systems it is believed that this particular a pplication environment has much in common with any other software esti mating activity. Many of the problems associated with this particular estimating environment ave apparent in other application domains.