Evaluation of Personnel Parameters in Software Cost Estimating Models

Software capabilities have steadily increased over the last half century. The Department of Defense has seized this increased capability and used it to advance the warfighter's weapon systems. However, this dependence on software capabilities has come with enormous cost. The risks of software development must be understood to develop an accurate cost estimate. Department of Defense cost estimators traditionally depend on parametric models to develop an estimate for a software development project. Many commercial parametric software cost estimating models exist such as COCOMO II, SEER-SEM, SLIM, and PRICE S. COCOMO II is the only model that has open architecture. The open architecture allows the estimator to fully understand the impact each parameter has on the effort estimate in contrast with the closed architecture models that mask the quantitative value with a qualitative input to characterize the impact of the parameter.