Estimating Software Costs, 2nd Edition

Foreword

Once when discussing a project then already months behind schedule, a puzzled executive observed that “every project we do comes in late.” Turning to his cowering CIO, he further fumed, “We give you reasonable deadlines up front! Why can’t you manage to them?” A knowing look passed between the CIO and a certain consultant who shall remain nameless. Setting the date before the requirements are set is the oldest problem in the software book, but the CIO had no credibility when he argued for different dates, since he lacked the one thing he needed to command the respect of his bosses: a well-defined, consistently applied, and rigorously executed software estimation process.

In its first fifty years, the business of software development ...