Pragmatic cost estimation for web applications

Cost estimation for web applications is an interesting and difficult challenge for researchers and industrial practitioners. It is a particularly valuable area of ongoing commercial research. Attaining on accurate cost estimation for web applications is an essential element in being able to provide competitive bids and remaining successful in the market. The development of prediction techniques over thirty years ago has contributed to several different strategies. Unfortunately there is no collective evidence to give substantial advice or guidance for industrial practitioners. Therefore to address this problem, this thesis shows the way by investigating the characteristics of the dataset by combining the literature review and industrial survey findings. The results of the systematic literature review, industrial survey and an initial investigation, have led to an understanding that dataset characteristics may influence the cost estimation prediction techniques. From this, an investigation was carried out on dataset characteristics. However, in the attempt to structure the characteristics of dataset it was found not to be practical or easy to get a defined structure of dataset characteristics to use as a basis for prediction model selection. Therefore the thesis develops a pragmatic cost estimation strategy based on collected advice and general sound practice in cost estimation. The strategy is composed of the following five steps: test whether the predictions are better than the means of the dataset; test the predictions using accuracy measures such as MMRE, Pred and MAE knowing their strengths and weaknesses; investigate the prediction models formed to see if they are sensible and reasonable model; perform significance testing on the predictions; and get the effect size to establish preference relations of prediction models. The results from this pragmatic cost estimation strategy give not only advice on several techniques to choose from, but also give reliable results. Practitioners can be more confident about the estimation that is given by following this pragmatic cost estimation strategy. It can be concluded that the practitioners should focus on the best strategy to apply in cost estimation rather than focusing on the best techniques. Therefore, this pragmatic cost estimation strategy could help researchers and practitioners to get reliable results. The improvement and replication of this strategy over time will produce much more useful and trusted results.Cost estimation for web applications is an interesting and difficult challenge for researchers and industrial practitioners. It is a particularly valuable area of ongoing commercial research. Attaining on accurate cost estimation for web applications is an essential element in being able to provide competitive bids and remaining successful in the market. The development of prediction techniques over thirty years ago has contributed to several different strategies. Unfortunately there is no collective evidence to give substantial advice or guidance for industrial practitioners. Therefore to address this problem, this thesis shows the way by investigating the characteristics of the dataset by combining the literature review and industrial survey findings. The results of the systematic literature review, industrial survey and an initial investigation, have led to an understanding that dataset characteristics may influence the cost estimation prediction techniques. From this, an investigation was carried out on dataset characteristics. However, in the attempt to structure the characteristics of dataset it was found not to be practical or easy to get a defined structure of dataset characteristics to use as a basis for prediction model selection. Therefore the thesis develops a pragmatic cost estimation strategy based on collected advice and general sound practice in cost estimation. The strategy is composed of the following five steps: test whether the predictions are better than the means of the dataset; test the predictions using accuracy measures such as MMRE, Pred and MAE knowing their strengths and weaknesses; investigate the prediction models formed to see if they are sensible and reasonable model; perform significance testing on the predictions; and get the effect size to establish preference relations of prediction models. The results from this pragmatic cost estimation strategy give not only advice on several techniques to choose from, but also give reliable results. Practitioners can be more confident about the estimation that is given by following this pragmatic cost estimation strategy. It can be concluded that the practitioners should focus on the best strategy to apply in cost estimation rather than focusing on the best techniques. Therefore, this pragmatic cost estimation strategy could help researchers and practitioners to get reliable results. The improvement and replication of this strategy over time will produce much more useful and trusted results

Un procedimiento de medición de tamaño funcional para especificaciones de requisitos

Hoy en día el tamaño del software es utilizado en la gestión y control de producción como uno de los parámetros esenciales de los modelos de estimación que contribuyen a la calidad de los proyectos de software y productos entregables. Aunque la importancia de la medición temprana del tamaño es evidente, actualmente esta medición es solamente alcanzada en fases tardías del ciclo de vida del software (análisis, diseño e implementación). El tamaño de software puede ser cuantificado usando diferentes técnicas, como las líneas de código y los métodos de medición de tamaño funcional. Un método de medición de tamaño funcional mide el tamaño del software cuantificando los requisitos funcionales. El método Análisis de Puntos de Función (FPA) es el método mayormente utilizado. Este método fue desarrollado para medir Sistemas de Información de Gestión desarrollados con metodos tradicionales. Aunque IFPUG FPA ha ido alcanzado mayor popularidad en la industria, este método carece de aplicabilidad a todo tipo de software y a nuevos paradigmas de desarrollo. Para direccionar estas debilidades, COSMIC-FFP ha surgido como un método de segunda generación y ha sido probado como un estandar internacional (ISO/IEC 19761). Sin embargo, la generalidad de COSMIC-FFP requiere ser instanciado por medio de un procedimiento más específico y sistemático en conjunción con un método de desarrollo de software.Condori Fernández, ON. (2007). Un procedimiento de medición de tamaño funcional para especificaciones de requisitos [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/1998Palanci