2-3 pages total, single spaced 12 pt font
Part A. Cost Estimation in the News
Find a news article, magazine, or other periodical that features a project that was extremely complex. This may be from any domain such as construction, information technology, aerospace, etc. Examples include the cost overrun associated with the Big Dig (http://www.boston.com/globe/metro/packages/bechtel/) or the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.
Provide the source of your article and answer the following discussion questions:
- Who were the main stakeholders in the project?
- What were the technical sources of complexity that would drive cost?
- What were the non-technical (i.e., people, processes, politics) sources of complexity that would drive cost?
- How could completion progress be measured on this project?
- Identify any unique aspects of this project.
Part B. The Constructive Cost Model
Read chapters 1 and 2 of the COCOMO book and answer the following questions.
- Of the six COCOMO II model objectives in Chapter 1, identify which ones you believe are the most important to:
- Model users (i.e., an engineer at an aerospace company)
- Model developers (i.e., commercial tool vendor such as IBM)
- Model evaluators (i.e., academic researcher)
- Figure 1.2 is also referred to as the “cone of uncertainty”. Comment on the shape of the curves, specifically:
- whether they should truly be symmetrical
- whether they should converge at the point of software acceptance
- whether programs are more frequently overestimated or underestimated
- Choose one COCOMO II cost driver from Chapter 2 and discuss your personal experience with this phenomenon. Did you experience a cost/effort increase as a result or a decrease?
Chapters 1 and 2 of the COCOMO book is attached
