Daniel Galorath, President and CEO. For over 30 years, Daniel D. Galorath has been solving management, costing, systems and software problems for both information technology and embedded systems. One of Dan’s strengths is reorganizing troubled software projects, assessing progress applying methodology and plans for completion and estimated cost to complete. Dan’s company, Galorath Incorporated, develops the SEER™ applications for software, hardware, electronics & systems, IT and manufacturing cost, schedule, risk analysis and management decision support. He is one of the principal developers of the SEER-SEM™ software evaluation model. Dan’s book, Software Sizing, Estimation, and Risk Management was published in 2006. Follow Dan’s blog at http://www.galorath.com/wp/.
Brian Glauser, VP, Business Development. Mr. Glauser has over 25 years of experience in technical software sales and management. Prior to joining Galorath, he was Director of Sales and Marketing for Cognition Corp., makers of high end engineering analysis and cost management software. During his sixteen-year tenure with Cognition, he helped grow and guide the company into several new markets, commercial as well as aerospace and defense. Mr. Glauser also spent six years as the Manager, Corporate CAD/CAM Administration and Engineering Computing Services for Applied Materials, Inc. where he was responsible for the selecting, implementing and managing corporate CAD/CAM systems and engineering computing systems. Mr. Glauser has degrees in Computer Science and Management from Temple University, DeAnza College, and St. Mary’s University, and he served in the U.S. Air Force from 1975-1978.
Robert Hunt, VP, Services. Mr. Hunt is responsible for the management and technical direction of Galorath services staff and the quality of services products. Mr. Hunt has provided software program assessments, SEI Checklist evaluations, software sizing analyses, and software cost estimating for commercial and federal clients including the Customs and Border Patrol, the Department of Defense, NASA, and various commercial clients. Prior to joining Galorath, Mr. Hunt was President of CALIBRE Services, Inc. Prior to joining CALIBRE, he was a Vice President of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) responsible for the Cost and Acquisition Management Operation. Mr. Hunt has also been Deputy Director of Cost Analysis for Automation and Modeling, Cost Analysis Division, U.S. Army. In this position, Mr. Hunt was the principal author of the initial Army Cost Analysis Manual. Mr. Hunt has held leadership positions in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the Society of Cost Estimating and Analysis (SCEA), and the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP), and the IEEE.
Karen McRitchie, VP of Development. Ms. McRitchie is responsible for the design, development, implementation and validation of the parametric estimation relationships found in the SEER™ estimation product line. In addition to existing SEER™ products, Ms. McRitchie oversees the development and implementation of new products and serves as principle investigator for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) projects. Ms. McRitchie has participated in numerous estimation, data collection, and calibration efforts and has trained hundreds of cost analysts in the use, application, and calibration of SEER-SEM™ and SEER-H™. She has been active in the International Society of Parametric Analysts (ISPA) for over a decade. She was awarded best paper at the 1993 conference, and in 2002, ISPA honored her with the Parametrician of the Year award. Ms. McRitchie earned her bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and System Science at UCLA. Her master’s work is in Mathematics at California State University, Northridge.
Carl Dalton, Managing Director of International Operations. In May 2001, Carl was appointed Managing Director responsible for International Operations for Galorath, the U.S. organization responsible for the SEER suite of tools. Prior to that, he was a Partner/Owner at HVR Consulting Services Ltd. He held various positions at HVR in the UK including Decision Support Group Director, where he directed the cost, risk and safety consultancy groups, Marketing Director as well as Vice-President Operations for HVR Canada Inc. Carl had joined HVR in 1989 from Theta Analysis and Systems Ltd, where he was a Principal Consultant in Cost and Risk Analysis. Previous to that he was a Cost Engineer within the UK MoD(PE), now DE&S.
Product Brochures
SEER for Software
SEER for Hardware, Electronics & Systems
SEER for Manufacturing
SEER for IT
10 Step Paper
The 10-step process presented in this paper provides a complete method for developing estimates and plans.
Applying Earned Value Management to Software Intensive Programs
Often, traditional earned value approaches do not deal sufficiently with the idiosyncrasies of software intensive programs. However, successful management of software intensive programs can be achieved by focusing on establishing the requirements, developing a reliable baseline estimate for cost and schedule, selecting effective software metrics, applying Performance-Based Earned Value® (PBEV), and using analytic processes to project cost and schedule based on actual performance.
Software Total Ownership Costs: Development Is Only Job One
Planning software development projects is never an easy undertaking. Issues such as customer and competitive requirements, time-to-market, architectural and quality considerations, staffing levels and expertise, potential risks, and many other factors must be carefully weighed and considered. Software development costs only comprise a portion – often the smaller portion – of the total cost of software ownership. However, the development process itself has a significant impact on total cost of ownership as tradeoffs are evaluated and compromises made that impact sustainability and maintainability of software over time.
Technical Notes
Implementing an Estimating Process
Determining the size of system functionality and measuring the performance of project teams is the basis of successful projects.
Estimating Process
Most people involved in IT projects have had to face challenges on meeting budgets, schedule, functionality and quality. Research (e.g., CHAOS Standish Report) shows that projects have difficulties meeting expectations. The organization expects delivery of software that is working according to the defined requirements, is available at the agreed upon time, is within the stated budget and is of good quality. Meeting these expectations is not only important to the senior management, but also in particular for the business goals (time‐to‐market, achieving efficiency improvement) and satisfying the customers expectations (services and products are available at the agreed moment).
Function Point Analysis
Function Point Analysis is measuring the size of the user functions (BFC’s) of the software of the application or a part of it. The user functions are the components requested and recognized by the user. These components are retrieved from the specifications that describe what the software should do to fulfill users needs (FUR’s). It’s about the functionality the software should provide, not how it will be implemented. The size of a user function is determined based on complexity.
Cosmic Functional Size Measurement Method
Function Point Analysis (FPA) is one of the most widely used methods to determine the size of software projects. FPA originated at a time when only a mainframe environment was available. Sizing of specifications was typically based on functional decomposition and modeled data. Nowadays, development methods like Object Oriented, Component Based and RAD are applied more often. There is also more attention on architecture and the use of client server and multi tier environments. Another development is the growth in complexity caused by more integrated applications, real time applications and embedded systems and combinations. FPA was not designed to cope with these various newer development approaches.
Implementing a Metrics Program: MOUSE will Help You
Just like an information system, a method, a technique, a tool or an approach is supporting the achievement of an objective. Following this line of thought, implementing a method, a technique and so on, should in many ways be comparable to the development of an information system.
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Case Studies
SEER for Software
A Case for Software Estimation
Receive Better Estimates and Achieve CMM Compliance
Improve Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) Integration Estimates
Save Six Man-Months per Proposal with Estimation Process
Moving Satellite Communications Program to Next Level
Improve Software Cost Estimating
SEER for Hardware, Electronics & Systems
Save 1000 Hours and Promote Cheaper Alternatives
Grab the Winning Edge with an Estimation Tool
Moving Satellite Communications Program to Next Level
SEER for Manufacturing
Philips Healthcare’s First Year of SEER Use Saves 1.5 Million Euros
Implementing a Process and Estimation Tool to Ensure Engineers Are Prepared
SEER Reduces Time to Calculate Cost by 75 Percent
Saving an Estimated $1.2 Billion with a Design-to-Cost Methodology
Grab the Winning Edge with an Estimation Tool
Manufacturer Saves 300 Person-Days Annually, Generates Answers it Can Trust
Software Sizing, Estimation, and Risk Management is a practical, hands-on discussion of the software estimation, planning and control process. It addresses critical factors that affect estimates, methods for selecting and applying appropriate measures to projects, proper software sizing, processes to identify and manage risk, and best practices to avoid problems and develop successful project plans.
“Shows how to use your estimation and project tracking data to improve your estimation accuracy and identify best investments for improving your software productivity and cycle time. Investing in acquiring this book and following its advice is highly likely to provide you with a robust return on your investment.”