Planning the Project
Question I
Cost estimation- An important component of project planning
Cost estimation is associated with the budget of a project. Moreover, the ROI or Return on Investment is also related to cost estimation. In order to complete a project, it is necessary to consider a project cost. During the process of cost estimation, the managers are able to identify risks associated with the project (Qin & Fang, 2011). They can also come up with alternatives in case of new requirements. Based on the accuracy of the cost plan, the manager can identify the anticipated benefits by considering the anticipated costs. Moreover, the managers can also review fund requirements, which can act as a guide for managing the day-to-day requirements of the project. There are various factors necessary to consider during project cost calculation. The factors are materials, premises, workforce, service providers, and premises. With the help of cost estimating techniques, it is possible to assign resources effectively. The resources are listed and the final cost is supposed to be summed up. In the case of complex and large projects, the resource costing method is adopted (Johnson, 1998). Similarly, previous projects are another source of estimating the cost of the project transparently. SmartAdmin is a great software that companies use for estimating project costs per hour and it ensures greater control over the project.
Link with the project schedule and Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
Both the project schedule and cost estimation are significant parts of a project. A proper schedule informs the project manager about the time required for completing a project. Resource planning, as well as cost preparation, works based on the project schedule. However, it could be challenging to formulate plans accurately due to insufficient information. The project manager is supposed to know the time required for completing a project and the cost of the entire project. The seniors also expect the project manager to meet the delivery dates accurately. In this instance, the project manager is supposed to involve the stakeholders and maintain integrity throughout the project. The stakeholders might be benefitted from the scope, cost, and time viability. Hence, a schedule helps to break down the project so that it becomes manageable. Similarly, project managers use a WBS so that larger tasks can be broken down into smaller chunks. It will be easy to manage and estimate the cost of smaller chunks. The WBS consists of detailed information and it is a good framework for cost estimation, control, and schedule development (Tausworthe, 1979). The WBS can facilitate the evaluation of technical performance, cost, and time of a project. The manager can use the WBS to schedule and plan future activities. Moreover, the stakeholders associated with a project have a better understanding of project scope and control points. The project manager can check and re-check the specific deliverables so that stakeholders do not overlap or miss anything. Various products are also available that helps to estimate costs based on the components of WBS.
Question II
Effect of the expertise level of a new programmer on the calculation of function points
The function point analysis is a good system for measuring the costs of a software project (Garmus & Herron, 2001). Proper estimation and resource allocation lead to project costs that might be 5%-8% of the total budget of a project. Experienced programmers are likely to follow the tools for measurement despite the absence of a perfect metric. They understand that the usage of a better tool will lead to the maintenance of a competitive edge. One of the software applications is the function point analysis and experienced programmers consider it as one of the consistent tools for measuring various components of software development projects. The system complexity rises when the function points rise. It leads to higher expense and development time.
The experienced programmers are supposed to provide apprenticeship to the newly hired programmers. The new programmers might use poor estimation techniques and their seniors might have high expectations. Every new developer must acknowledge the fact that function points are based on the requirements of a business. It does not depend on the ability of the programmer to code or software language or any technology. There is a need to estimate the function points carefully because the competition is rising every day. The experienced developers are supposed to teach the new developers new ways of determining the resources of a project. In a world of constantly changing software languages and technology, it is feasible to use the best method for estimation purposes. The new developers might fail to use FP accurately because the seniors might have unrealistic expectations and the developers might be unable to articulate the project goals appropriately. Without proper executive support and constant guidance, the developers are likely to stumble during the project and the actual costs of the project at the end of the month might be 10% to 20% more than expected.
References
Garmus, D., & Herron, D. (2001). Function point analysis: measurement practices for successful software projects. Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing Co., Inc..
Johnson, K. (1998). Software cost estimation: metrics and models. Department of Computer Science, University of Calgary.
Qin, X., & Fang, M. (2011). Summarization of software cost estimation. Procedia Engineering, 15, 3027-3031.
Tausworthe, R. C. (1979). The work breakdown structure in software project management. Journal of Systems and Software, 1, 181-186.