Introduction

For successful completion of a project, it is necessary that software organizations follow sound practices not only during the development stage but also during the estimation stage. Incorrect estimates result in delays and customer dissatisfaction.

Constructive Cost Model (COCOMO) II is one of the most commonly used estimation model that allows one to arrive at fairly accurate and reasonable estimates. COCOMO II comprises three models that estimators can use during different stages of the project depending on the amount of information available.

An Introduction to COCOMO II course includes:

• Basics of COCOMO II
• Cost Drivers
• Calculating Effort and Schedule

Course Benefits

This course will enable you to:

• Understand the structure of the COCOMO II.
• Describe the different categories of cost drivers.
• Examine the use of COCOMO II in making project estimates.

You receive a certificate of completion after successfully completing thiscourse.

Content Brief

COCOMO II was developed by Dr. Barry Boehm. COCOMO II consists of three models—Application Composition, Early Design, and Post-Architecture model.

The Application Composition model is generally used in the early phases of the project. T he Early Design model is used when very little may be known about the size of the product to be developed, the target platform, the nature of the personnel to be involved in the project, and the details of the process to be used. Once the software lifecycle architecture has been developed and designed, the actual development or maintenance of the software product starts. At this stage, Post-Architecture model is used.

In COCOMO II, effort is expressed as Person Months (PM). Person month is the amount of time one person spends working on the software development project for one month. Person months effort of the project can be estimated using PM nominal = A * (Size) B.

The scaling factors for COCOMO II are Precedentess (PREC), Development flexibility (FLEX), Architecture/risk resolution (RESL), Team cohesion (TEAM), and Process maturity (PMAT).

COCOMO II consists of 17 cost drivers. These cost drivers are divided into four categories— product, platform, personnel, and project.

COCOMO II can be used to determine the required development schedule by using the equation: SCED = Expected duration/nominal duration.