The article titled "Estimating the Effort Overhead in Global Software Development" by Ansgar Lamersdorf, Jürgen Münch, Alicia Fernández-del Viso Torre, Carlos Rebate Sánchez, and Dieter Rombach highlights the importance of models for effort and cost estimation in both distributed software development and collocated software and system development. The authors argue that standard cost models do not adequately consider the unique characteristics of distributed development such as dissimilar abilities at different sites or significant overhead due to remote collaboration. Therefore, explicit cost models for distributed development are necessary. In this article, the authors present an initial development of a cost overhead model for a Spanish global software development organization using the CoBRA approach for cost estimation. They identify specific cost drivers for the distributed development context and quantify their impact on an empirical basis. The article also provides an overview of related work and its application in an industrial context. Furthermore, the authors sketch out how this model can be included in an approach for systematic task allocation to help organizations better estimate costs associated with distributed software projects and allocate resources more effectively. Additionally, they discuss potential future refinements to incorporate additional factors such as cultural differences between sites and communication challenges into the model. Overall, this article emphasizes the need for explicit cost models tailored to distributed software development contexts in order to accurately estimate costs associated with such projects. By identifying specific cost drivers and quantifying their impact on an empirical basis, organizations can make more informed decisions about resource allocation when undertaking global software developments.
- Models for effort and cost estimation are important in both distributed and collocated software development.
- Standard cost models do not adequately consider the unique characteristics of distributed development.
- Explicit cost models for distributed development are necessary.
- The article presents an initial development of a cost overhead model for a Spanish global software development organization using the CoBRA approach for cost estimation.
- Specific cost drivers for the distributed development context are identified and quantified on an empirical basis.
- The model can be included in an approach for systematic task allocation to help organizations better estimate costs associated with distributed software projects and allocate resources more effectively.
- Future refinements could incorporate additional factors such as cultural differences between sites and communication challenges into the model.
This article talks about how it's important to estimate how much time and money it will take to make computer programs. Sometimes people work together in the same place, and sometimes they work in different places. It's harder to estimate costs when people are working in different places. The article explains how they made a special way of estimating costs for a company that makes software in many different countries. They found out what things make it cost more or less to work this way, so they can plan better.
Definitions
- Models: A way of thinking about something that helps us understand it better.
- Effort: How much work someone puts into doing something.
- Cost estimation: Figuring out how much money something will cost before you start doing it.
- Distributed development: When people work on the same project but are not all in the same place.
- Cost overhead model: A tool used to figure out how much extra money is needed for a project beyond just paying salaries.
- Empirical basis: Information gathered from real-life experience rather than just guessing.
- Refinements: Improvements made to something over time.
Exploring the Necessity of Cost Models for Global Software Development
The ability to accurately estimate costs associated with global software development projects is essential for organizations to make informed decisions about resource allocation. In their article, “Estimating the Effort Overhead in Global Software Development”, Ansgar Lamersdorf, Jürgen Münch, Alicia Fernández-del Viso Torre, Carlos Rebate Sánchez and Dieter Rombach explore the need for explicit cost models tailored to distributed software development contexts. They present an initial development of a cost overhead model using the CoBRA approach for cost estimation and identify specific cost drivers that have an impact on such projects.
Standard Cost Models are Insufficient
The authors argue that standard cost models do not adequately consider the unique characteristics of distributed development such as dissimilar abilities at different sites or significant overhead due to remote collaboration. Therefore, explicit cost models for distributed development are necessary in order to accurately estimate costs associated with such projects. The authors provide an overview of related work and its application in an industrial context before presenting their own model which they developed for a Spanish global software organization.
Identifying Specific Cost Drivers
The authors identify specific cost drivers including project size, number of sites involved in the project and communication complexity between sites as well as cultural differences between sites. They quantify these factors on an empirical basis by collecting data from over 50 global software projects conducted by this organization over several years. This data was then used to develop a model which can be included into systematic task allocation approaches so that organizations can better estimate costs associated with distributed software developments and allocate resources more effectively.
Future Refinements
In addition to identifying specific cost drivers and quantifying their impact on an empirical basis, the authors also discuss potential future refinements that could be made to incorporate additional factors such as cultural differences between sites or communication challenges into the model. By doing so it would allow organizations undertaking global software developments even greater insight into how best allocate resources when taking on such projects.
Conclusion
Overall this article highlights both the importance of accurate effort estimation when it comes to global software developments but also emphasizes why standard models are insufficient when considering all aspects associated with distributed development contexts – particularly those relating to remote collaboration or cultural differences between sites involved in a project . By developing a tailored explicit cost model based on empirical evidence collected from real world scenarios organizations can make more informed decisions about resource allocation when undertaking global software developments thus increasing their chances of success while reducing overall costs associated with them
