How to Estimate Early in a Project

Early project estimating: every client wants it, most information system professionals cannot do it, and everyone suspects it. The challenge is that there is no time to ask questions and you often cannot get the right people. The estimate is usually needed urgently to determine budgets. Our experience tells us that whatever value we come up with probably be wrong, leading to a missed due date and unhappy customers. Yet, we must march boldly forward and estimate.

This workshop introduces methods that improve early estimates, and improve the communication of the factors that affect them. We cover the foundation approaches for today’s state-of-the-practice in early project estimating based on application, story, object, and function points techniques. This course uses software support to apply the methods, add capabilities, and ease their use. Participants discuss factors that affect estimating accuracy, and apply them in a case study. Included in the class materials is an individual license for our estimating tool, Quest For Better Estimates®.

Apply Application, Object and Story point estimating methods and; discuss their strengths, weaknesses and prerequisites
Discuss the most important questions to ask before estimating a project
Identify natural estimating points and the most useful methods for early estimating
Discuss Function Point estimating and it applicability to early project estimating

1 day

Business Analysts
Internal estimating consultants
Project Leaders
Project Managers
Project members from the business
Project Office
Subject Matter Experts
System Analysts
Anyone interested in reasonable early project estimates.
User liaison personnel