Corporate Library

SEER for Software

Webinars

SEER® and Its Relation to the CMMI®

Capability Maturity Model® Integration (CMMI) is a process improvement approach that provides organizations with the essential elements of effective processes. Project Planning and Project Monitoring and Control are two of these processes. Prior to project execution, the relationship between these two process areas tends to be strong. Unfortunately, once a project is underway the relationship between planning, monitoring, and control tends to breakdown in the rush to achieve project deadlines. The result is a high-risk, open-loop project: You know where you planned to be and where you are, but you don't know where you will likely end up. In this webinar we review the fundamentals of project modeling, estimating, and performance measurement, and introduce a methodology for seamlessly integrating Project Planning, Project Monitoring and Control, and Project Measurement and Analysis.

Software Total Cost of Ownership

Software development is a costly, often schedule-driven activity, prone to compromises to meet schedule. Many of these compromises have far-reaching impacts on the cost of software maintenance, total ownership costs and software sustainability. Maintenance staff are often insufficient and asked to do too much to sustain the desired level of maintenance. While software doesn't wear out, with inadequate maintenance it can become functionally less useful and less reliable over time.This webinar discusses maintenance productivity issues and metrics, methods of making the most appropriate tradeoffs during development, and determining that total ownership costs are managed rather than just arbitrary. SEER's maintenance model will also be discussed and demonstrated.

Parametric Modeling and CAIV: Optimizing Requirements and Total Cost of Ownership

CAIV or Cost as an Independent Variable is a methodology for reducing total cost of ownership by setting aggressive yet realistic cost objectives when defining operational requirements or acquiring systems. Cost objectives balance project requirements with projected out-year resources, taking into account existing technology, maturation of new technologies, and anticipated process improvements in both DoD and industry (DoD, 1996). This webinar will introduce the underlying methodology of CAIV and how SEER parametric estimation models can be used to support CAIV implementation. Linking SEER to the organization's databases and engineering systems, users can leverage the power of parametrics to implement CAIV, Design to Cost, Target Costing initiatives, and basic, design trade studies, as well as to develop and evaluate real-time cost impact assessments of competing design alternatives.

Function Based Sizing: A Function-Point Alternative with Complete Compatibility

Galorath's Function-Based Sizing method has gained widespread acceptance among SEER users and for good reason: It enables individuals to determine functional software sizing even if they're not certified function point counters. In many cases, users find Function-Based Sizing easier and more complete than alternative sizing methodologies. Users can also size in more intuitive detail, such as by 'data tables' instead of 'ILF's or 'input screens' instead of 'EI's. This tutorial fully describes Function Based Sizing in a user-friendly and example-filled format. Participants will learn to quickly and intuitively identify the distinct types of function points and their size, and also to size hidden functionality that standard function points may not cover.

Software Sizing, Cost, Schedule, and Risk: A 10-Step Process

An effective software estimate provides the information needed to design a workable software development plan. How well the project is estimated is ultimately the key to the project’s (and product’s) success. An effective software estimate also provides important information for making project decisions, predicting performance, and defining objectives and plans. This webinar discusses how to make software projects more successful by properly estimating and planning project costs, schedules, risks, and resources. The 10-step process presented in this webinar provides a complete method for developing estimates and plans, based upon the book Software Sizing, Estimation, and Risk Management; When Performance is Measured Performance Improves by Daniel D. Galorath and Michael W. Evans (Auerbach Publications, February 2006).

SEER Integration to IBM RSX: Generating Project Estimates Directly From Use Cases

The SEER Integration to IBM RSX enables users to extract relevant information from use cases specified in IBM Rational Systems Developer, IBM Rational Software Modeler, IBM Rational Software Architect and legacy Rational Rose, and automatically generate a complexity-adjusted software size estimate. This estimate can be divided into a work breakdown structure that is exportable directly into the SEER for Software effort and duration estimating model, or a number of other formats. The SEER Integration to IBM Rational RSX has been validated for inclusion in IBM’s  Ready for IBM Rational software program.

SEER and MS Project: Software Development Planning Made Easy

This webinar shows you how you can transform Microsoft Project into a powerful tool for estimating and planning projects. With relatively few inputs, the SEER integration to MS Project enables users to estimate project costs, effort, duration, and risk with SEER for Software, and construct a complete project plan in MS Project.

 

Presentations

Tracking Software Projects with Parametric Performance Measurement

Earned Value Management (EVM) employs principals of control theory to increase the probability that a software project's actual performance matches its expected (planned) performance. While this process is generally well understood and well supported, it does a couple of serious shortcomings: 1) its single-dimension focus on task completion as the sole means of earning value and 2) its inability to provide a realistic performance-based Estimate at Completion (EAC). EVM fails to recognize measures other than task completion as indicators of progress – measures which can reveal otherwise undetected project issues and problems. TEVM's failure to incorporate the fundamental size-time-effort relationships of software development project dynamics when computing EAC. This webinar describes how EVM can be combined with parametric project estimates for software project monitoring and control and demonstrates how SEER for Software project monitoring and control can be used to yield a more realistic and accurate prediction of EAC and other project management metrics, taking the size-time-effort relationships of software project dynamics into consideration.

Fast-track Your CMMI Initiative With Better Estimation Practices

The Software Engineering Institute's CMMI models provide the latest best practices for software development and maintenance. Galorath's SEER process and tools, which support cradle to grave project management, are closely aligned with CMMI. Tom Cagley, Managing Senior Consultant at The David Consulting Group, begins this webinar with a high-level overview of CMMI. Mike Ross, Galorath's Chief Engineer, explains how to use SEER methods and tools to achieve compliance in three CMMI Level 2 key processes; Project Planning; Project Monitoring and Control and Measurement and Analysis. Then Tom Cagley returns to present a strategy for fast-track success with CMMI, showing how your organization can obtain Level 3 in as little as 15 months.

Effective Software Sizing

Although many factors influence a software project's cost and schedule, software program size is the key determinant that affects cost and effort. Software sizing is a measure of how “big” a program is. While this may seem self-evident, the actual concept of software size is often confusing and not well defined. This presentation will explain software sizing techniques and leading trends and practices in software sizing technology, including; sizing source lines of code; function sizing; object sizing; reusing existing source code; use and integration of off-the-shelf software and other sizing methods. Because software size has the biggest impact on estimation, this presentation will also explain major software estimation concepts such as technology, environment, complexity factors, staffing, scheduling, risk, and probability. Additionally, we will briefly cover why it makes sense to use your software estimation model as perfect management tool.

Introduction to Software Estimation

This presentation, teaches the basics of software estimation including definitions, background, and best practices. Software development is often considered “magic” or “black art” and the thought of getting a reliable estimate is often scoffed at (for many understandable reasons). This presentation will show you that obtaining reliable software estimates is possible, and can not only make your project more successful, but can also make your (and your team’s) lives better.

Costing COTS Integration

This presentation was given by Linda Brooks at the 2003 Software Technology Conference. It provides a roadmap for doing an estimate for a Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) intensive systems development. It discusses the key lessons learned about COTS development pitfalls and translates them into estimation steps and checklists. A calibration example using historical data from a Northrop Grumman Mission Systems COTS-intensive development is presented.

The Software Estimation Approach of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Autonomic Logistics Information S

Presented by Juan Gomez and C. Patrice Roseland of Lockheed Martin Information Systems at the 2003 Software Technology Conference, this presentation discusses the techniques applied to determine a software estimate for ALIS and the techniques that will be used to maintain and manage software size and effort during development.

 

Whitepapers

Relative Language Productivities Redux

Galorath’s Lee Fischman and Mike Kimel won the Best Paper award for this white paper in the Software Technology Track at the 2002 ISPA Annual Conference. This white paper walks through the process for estimating the relative productivity values for a diverse set of languages.

A Software Model Based on Architecture

Determining software size is often the most difficult step in estimating software projects. This white paper by Dan Galorath and Daniel Ferens from the , Air Force Research Laboratory, introduces research in automatic sizing tools, including applied research and identification of enabling technologies.

Assessing Software Productivity with An Estimation Model

The assessment of productivity is an inherently ambiguous and challenging process. The major challenge is determining what level of productivity is expected for a particular type of software project. This case study describes how SEER was used to assess the validity of productivity levels of an organization' subcontractor, and ultimately determine how they were arriving at roughly 19,000 hours per month in maintenance changes.

Driving Quality Through Parametrics

This article by Daniel Galorath, Lee Fischman, and Karen McRitchie shows how prediction models can be used to improve delivered quality. It also demonstrates how organizations can anticipate and plan for the factors that affect quality, leveraging quality management activities to improve the entire development effort.

 

Case Studies