Software Architect's Handbook

Improving cost and effort estimates

Project managers ask questions such as: When is it going to be done? How long is it going to take? How much is it going to cost? They need this type of information to properly plan resources and monitor progress. One of the many duties of a software architect is to assist project management by providing this type of information and assisting with determining the necessary tasks and estimates for those tasks.

The design of the software architecture itself affects what types of task will be necessary for implementation. As a result, work-breakdown of tasks is dependent on the software architecture and the software architect can assist project management with the creation of the tasks.

Two major approaches ...