Exploring the Department of Defense Software Factbook

The Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute (SEI) conducted an analysis of software engineering data owned and maintained by the Department of Defense (DoD) to produce high-level, DoD-wide heuristics and domain-specific benchmark data. This work yielded basic facts about software projects, such as averages, ranges, and heuristics for requirements, size, effort, and duration. Factual, quantitatively-derived statements were reported to provide users with easily digestible benchmarks. Findings were also presented by system type, or super domain. The analysis in this area focused on identifying the most and least expensive projects and the best and worst projects within three super domains: real time, engineering, and automated information systems. It also provided insight into the differences between system domains and contained domain-specific heuristics. Finally, correlations were explored among requirements, size, duration, and effort and the strongest models for predicting change were described. The goal of this work was to determine how well the data could be used to answer common questions related to planning or replanning software projects. The paper provides a high-level overview of the SEI's research and primary findings.Naval Postgraduate School Acquisition Research Progra

Quantifying Uncertainty for Early Life Cycle Cost Estimates

Disclaimer: The views represented in this report are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy position of the Navy, the Department of Defense, or the federal government.Excerpt from the Proceedings of the Tenth Annual Acquisition Research Symposium Cost EstimatingNaval Postgraduate School Acquisition Research ProgramPrepared for the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CANaval Postgraduate School Acquisition Research ProgramApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Exploring the DoD Software Factbook

The Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute (SEI) conducted an analysis of software engineering data owned and maintained by the Department of Defense (DoD) to produce high-level, DoD-wide heuristics and domain-specific benchmark data. This work yielded basic facts about software projects, such as averages, ranges, and heuristics for requirements, size, effort, and duration. Factual, quantitatively-derived statements were reported to provide users with easily digestible benchmarks. Findings were also presented by system type, or super domain. The analysis in this area focused on identifying the most and least expensive projects and the best and worst projects within three super domains: real time, engineering, and automated information systems. It also provided insight into the differences between system domains and contained domain-specific heuristics. Finally, correlations were explored among requirements, size, duration, and effort and the strongest models for predicting change were described. The goal of this work was to determine how well the data could be used to answer common questions related to planning or replanning software projects. The paper provides a high-level overview of the SEI's research and primary findings.Naval Postgraduate School Acquisition Research Progra

Len Bass

Software Architecture Technology Initiative Unlimited distribution subject to the copyright. This report was prepared for th