Software Estimation

It is no simple challenge to manage software costs and maximize return on Investments in today''s fast changing and fiercely competitive business environment. Sizing and Estimation activities impact throughout the organization and encompass an array of factors that often aren't visible at the first glance:

	Padding budgets in anticipation of underestimations
	Underestimating future costs of maintenance
	Non inclusion of support costs and business costs
	Non quantification of IT value and benefits for an IT business function
	Project Management challenges due to ill defined estimates
	Pressure to reduce cost and complexity
	Need to measure productivity

''Costs of IT initiatives will typically exceed original estimates by an average of 100 percent''. Standish report survey concludes:

	52.7 % of projects are challenged, meaning they are completed but incurred cost and schedule overruns resulting in fewer features than originally specified
	31.1 % of the projects canceled during the development cycle
	The average schedule overruns for challenged and canceled projects was 222 % of the original time estimates
	On an average challenged projects were delivered with only 61 % of the original specified features and functions

A Sizing & Estimation initiative provides a holistic view of project and portfolio sizes and associated costs across business boundaries. Enterprises that implement Sizing and Estimation initiatives will see over time:

	Reduced cost
	Increased predictability and credibility thereby increasing customer satisfaction
	A sound basis for defining an effective metrics framework
	An effective framework for contract negotiation both with clients and vendors
	Better vendor management
	Outsourced Projects $ savings significant reduction in fixed bid  values due to fact based negotiations arising from consistent sizing methods
	Reduced risks of increased development costs, late delivery, and missed features and functionality

QAI's Software Estimation Center of Excellence, enables organizations to achieve an optimal environment to develop business software solutions by:

	Providing the best in class estimation capability
	Enabling effective management of user expectations through improved predictability of project cost and schedules
	Improving knowledge management - Historical as well as industry benchmark data is maintained and used to provide better estimation basis

The SECoE provides a suite of services, which have been designed with the current understanding of the market. The services can be customized, combined broken into components to suit the needs of the business.