Project Estimation

Also see: Avoiding a Project Death March (2-hour online class)

Delivery: 1/2- to 1-day workshop or onsite coaching

One of the most common problems in the software / systems industry is the inaccurate estimation of product development schedules.

In this workshop, project managers, members of the project team and QA learn to use a light-weight Delphi technique and Planning Poker to formulate comprehensive effort and size estimates. The techniques can be used for software / IT development, deployment and maintenance work.

The Delphi estimation process clarifies the scope of the project, creates a comprehensive task list for project completion, derives estimates for each task, clarifies project-level and task-level assumptions and enumerates interruptions and overhead activities. Planning Poker is quicker but less thorough.

Both techniques can be used to estimate any kind of project, (e.g., new feature set, legacy modification, maintenance release, solution deployment, or improvement project). The resulting estimates are used to establish project completion dates, set priorities, and understand schedule risks when the project deadline is fixed.

Those attending will be given an overview of the various types of estimation techniques, such as mathematical and empirical models and analogy. Planning Poker and Delphi, which stress the importance of project task clarity and team involvement, will be discussed in detail and practiced. Recommendations will be provided on which method to use for different types of project work and the tailoring options that exist.

The techniques presented are applied in the session to your current project work*.

The Benefits Of This Workshop

By utilizing a team approach that results in more accurate estimation, you will achieve the following:

Produce higher quality products:

• accurate estimation makes allowances for enough time to evaluate customer needs, design and test the product

Enhance your company’s (or group’s) reputation:

• setting and negotiating deadlines increases your likelihood of delivering products on time — thus creating a better reputation among customers
• improved predictability and quality improves your image in the marketplace

Build project morale:

• a team-based approach will allow all relevant people to have input into the estimation process, thus creating a more favorable work atmosphere
• fewer missed deadlines will prevent problems for management, marketing, sales and development personnel

Build an organization-wide consensus:

• management and project team members agree on deadlines
• the entire organization functions as a team, becoming more committed to setting and meeting deadlines

Audience

This workshop will be useful for project managers, technical leads, test managers and team members that have input on project estimates. In the session the team will estimate their current / upcoming work.