Software Estimation: Demystifying the Black Art

Chapter 12. Proxy-Based Estimates

Applicability of Techniques in This Chapter

	Fuzzy Logic	Standard Components	Story Points	T-Shirt Sizing
What’s estimated	Size, Features	Size, Effort	Size, Effort, Schedule, Features	Effort, Cost, Schedule, Features
Size of project	- M L	S M L	S M L	- M L
Development stage	Early	Early–Middle	Early–Middle	Early
Iterative or sequential	Sequential	Both	Both	Sequential
Accuracy possible	Medium	Medium	Medium–High	N/A

Most estimators can’t look at a feature description and accurately estimate, “That feature will require exactly 253 lines of code.” Similarly, it’s difficult to directly estimate how many test cases your project will need, how many defects to expect, how many classes you’ll end up with, and so on.

A family of estimation techniques ...