The size of your house is measured in square feet, and the bigger the size, the more time and money it will take to build. The same principle applies to software development projects. Not only do time, effort, staff cost, quality and productivity increase with software size, they increase exponentially. So, what's the best unit for quantifying software size? You're probably using one or more of these familiar function units. Which one is best for you?

In Episode 5 of our video series, Software Size Matters Why Quantifying Software Size is Critical for Project Estimating, Tracking, and Performance Benchmarking, we take a closer look at sizing function units and how to capture complexity. In previous videos, we discussed why quantifying software size is important, what software size is and is not, and how to use different sizing methods. In Episode 3, we said that the sizing method you choose is largely determined by where you are in the development lifecycle because that dictates the amount of data available. When choosing a function unit, a good question to ask is what type of work will you be performing?

So, you're ready to estimate the size of a planned software development project or capture the actual size of an in-progress or completed project. The good news is SLIM-Suite® tools are incredibly flexible. You can model almost any software development lifecycle methodology and choose from a wide variety of size metrics and techniques. The bad news is, with so many components and sizing methods to choose from, how do you select the right one for your project?

Episode 4 of our video series, Software Size Matters: Why Quantifying Software Size is Critical for Project Estimating, Tracking and Forecasting, and Performance Benchmarking, focuses on choosing a sizing method that fits the information you have on hand and your project's lifecycle stage. In previous videos, we discussed why quantifying software size is important, what software size is and is not, and looked at familiar metrics you're probably using now. It turns out there are a variety of sizing methods to choose from. Asking a few simple questions up front can quickly point you in the right direction.

You intuitively know that the scope of your software development project determines your team size, schedule, and budget. How do you measure software project scope, especially when you don’t have much information to go on?

Episode 3: Sizing Terms & Metrics is part of our Software Size Matters video series that explores how you not only can, but should be using software size measures at every stage of software project, program, and portfolio management. In Episode 1, we introduced QSM's Software Lifecycle Management top-down scope-based project estimating simulation model. In Episode 2, we explained why quantifying software size is so important. In this episode, we'll discuss sizing terms and metrics you're likely familiar with and already using.

Watch Episode 3: Sizing Terms & Metrics

Size is one of Five Core Metrics used to understand and manage software projects.

In today's world, Data Analytics is everywhere helping us recognize patterns and trends, providing insights, and driving business decisions. Software engineers, cost analysts, and project and portfolio managers need data to:

• Sanity check vendor bids
• Prioritize software projects with the highest ROI or to achieve strategic goals
• Secure resources for projects in their pipeline
• Calculate and benchmark productivity and capacity
• Create realistic estimates and plans for new projects.

So ensuring your data is valid and relevant is crucial.

Episode 2: Why Quantify Software Size? is part of our video series, Software Size Matters! Why Quantifying Software Size is Critical for Project Estimating, Tracking, and Performance Benchmarking, that explores how you not only can but should be using software size measures at every stage of the software project, program, or portfolio management process. In this episode, we'll talk about how to keep your measurement process simple and useful and show key software project performance insights gained from software size.

Watch Episode 2: Why Quantify Software Size?

Our new video series, Software Size Matters! Why Quantifying Software Size is Critical for Project Estimating, Tracking, and Performance Benchmarking, explores how you not only can but should be using software size measures at every stage of the software project, program, or portfolio management process. We created this video series to help you improve the accuracy of your software estimates, plans and forecasts because software size matters. 

The core management metrics used for software estimation and software project management - schedule (duration), effort (cost), quality (defects) and developer productivity - all increase with software size (scope).  This may not surprise you. But did you know that they increase in a nonlinear fashion?  This is why estimating and managing software projects is challenging!

How good are your software project estimates compared to the actual time and money spent when the project's completed? If you want to improve your software estimation accuracy, this video series is for you!

Watch Episode 1: Introduction

Quantifying software size helps you with: