Bestselling author steve mcconnell provides a compelling argument for turning software success into an everyday habit by advancing the software profession itselfat the individual, organizational. Demystifying the black art is a fabulous resource for software projects. This came up following responses to my article, how to estimate without estimating. The book this new book from steve mcconnell, awardwinning author of code complete and. If you havent read it, pick up a copy and work your way through it. Software estimation with steve mcconnell ryan ripley. One can find a very good cocomo based estimation software from the usc university of southern california website at this link.
At microsoft, mcconnell worked on truetype as part of windows 3. You can read my original 17 theses on software estimation post here. The cone of uncertainty from steve mcconnells software estimation. Demystifying the black art developer best practices. It is full of great ideas, interesting concepts, and some tips. He is chief software engineer of construx software and was the lead developer of construx estimate and of spc estimate professional, winner of software development magazines productivity award. Techniques for more accurate and transparent estimates, from steve mcconnells book software estimation. Instead of arcane treatises and rigid modeling techniques, this guide highlights a proven set of procedures. Sven johann talks with steve mcconnell about software estimation. Demystifying the black art developer best practices ebook. These tips are taken from software estimation demystifying the black art by steve mcconnell, published in the microsoft best practices series. However, when i saw that the author was steve mcconnell, the author of code complete which i thought was a great book i knew that this book would have something to offer.
That post has been completely subsumed by this post if you want to just read this one. On this site youll find more resources, courses and keynotes based. This book has proved to be an invaluable resource and i recommend it to anyone responsible for. Software estimation by steve mcconnell provides a very broad overview of many ways to reduce the software estimation errors for your development cycle. Following our article on why we estimate, weve put together a series continue reading improving our estimation. Oct 24, 2017 steve mcconnell on software estimation by. In his highly anticipated book, acclaimed author steve mcconnell unravels the mystery to successful software estimationdistilling academic information and.
Nov 01, 2016 sven johann talks with steve mcconnell about software estimation. I read it because i wanted to have tools to discuss the subject, and i think this books accomplishes that. In his highly anticipated book, acclaimed author steve mcconnell unravels the mystery to successful software estimation distilling academic information and realworld experience into a practical guide for working software professionals. Jun 30, 2006 30 jun 2006 how good an estimator are you. The pdf version of code complete 2nd edition is available here for download. My aim is to popularize a result that is well known in the software engineering literature, going back to the early work of barry boehm, 1 and explained with great clarity by steve mcconnell in. Steve mcconnell recently published 17 theses regarding estimation. In this intense code complete ondemand class you will learn dozens of proven tips, techniques, and principles to produce clean.
As an example, for presenting countcomputejudge, he presents the problem of counting the number of people in a large conference hall. I read it because i wanted to have tools to discuss the subject, and i think this books. Steve mcconnell on software estimation ryan kienstra. Software project estimation practices at codetiburon web. Flow of software estimates on a wellestimated project. Mcconnell published his first book, code complete, in 1993. A classic story of classic mistakes by steve mcconnell. In 1998, the software development magazine named him as one of the three most influential people in the software industry, along with linus torvalds and bill gates. It is a brilliant lesson of how many mistakes we can make when we are put in a. In his highly anticipated book, acclaimed author steve mcconnell unravels the mystery to successful software estimationdistilling academic. Software estimation in this highly anticipated book, acclaimed author steve mcconnell unravels the mystery to successful. To me, the first and last chapters which dealt with conceptualizing the problem space in general were the most interesting.
If you take a look at the white papers section of the construx website free registration required, but its worth it youll find a number of excellent presentations in pdf format that are good reminders and primers when dealing with daunting software estimation tasks. What do you guys do for estimates and how do you improve your estimates. Software estimation steve mcconnell abdulmoniems thoughts. In his highly anticipated book, acclaimed author steve mcconnell unravels the mystery to successful software estimationdistilling academic information and realworld experience into a practical guide for working software professionals. Like all of mr mcconnells books, he provides crystal clear writing with tons of techniques that are ready for application in the real world. Jan 01, 2006 software estimation demystifying the black art is a boring book. More effective agile stay tuned for the release of more effective agile. This online course is led by steve mcconnell, the coding guru who wrote the bestselling code complete. The cone of uncertainty introduction to software estimations cone of uncertainty narrowing the cone of uncertainty relationship between the cone of uncertainty and commitment the cone of uncertainty and iterative development related resources. Often referred to as the black art because of its complexity and uncertainty, software estimation is not as difficult or puzzling as people think. Steve mcconnell is chief software engineer at construx soft ware where. Programmers working with highlevel languages achieve better productivity and quality than those working with lowerlevel languages. Unlike other books that focus exclusively on the science. Steve mcconnell has a new book on software estimation.
Demystifying the black art how inaccurate is a ballpark estimate. Software project estimation 101 the four basic steps in software project estimation are. In both of these software tools you can calibrate using historical data for getting accurate estimates. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. This article is a critique of mcconnells 17 theses on software estimation. Software estimation by steve mcconnell the wit and ramblings of david giard demanding rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty. Pick up steve mcconnell s book software estimation.
Demystifying the black art developer best practices enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. Software estimationdemystifying the black art software. Demystifying the black art has a number of good examples presented through the book, some tied to a specific estimation methodology as well as an example, for presenting countcomputejudge, he presents the problem of counting the. I wish all the critics did such a good job, including me, when i offer criticism. The primary purpose of software estimation is not to predict a projects outcome. When executives ask for an estimate, theyre often asking for a commitment or for a plan to meet a target. On this site youll find more resources, courses and keynotes based on steve mcconnell s newest book. Why steve mcconnell is wrong about software estimation.
Estimation is often done badly and ineffectively and in an overly time. Demystifying the black art has a number of good examples presented through the book, some tied to a specific estimation methodology as well. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Like all of mr mcconnell s books, he provides crystal clear writing with tons of techniques that are ready for application in the real world.
When mcconnell says estimation here he means estimating a solution that has not been defined. If you have nothing else, a schedule estimation rule. This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under the code project open license cpol share. In his highly anticipated book, acclaimed author steve mcconnell unravels the.
This generally ends up in either lines of code loc or function points fp, but there are other possible units of measure. Both estimation and control are needed to achieve predictability. From 1996 to 1998, he was the editor of the best practices column in the ieee software magazine. You will learn techniques for making sure estimation is treated as an analytical rather than a political process, and. Software estimation by steve mcconnell provides a very broad overview of many ways to reduce the software. Software estimation by steve mcconnell provides a very broad overview of many ways. Mar 22, 2006 steve mcconnell is recognized as one of the premier authors and voices in the development community. Any resources to help understand estimates more or just helpful things in general. For each question, fill in the upper and lower bounds so that you have a 90 percent chance of including the correct value. Demystifying the black art now with oreilly online learning. Demystifying the black art developer best practices kindle edition by mcconnell, steve.
Mostly, however well talk here about his responding blog entry. Instead of arcane treatises and rigid modeling techniques, this guide. Reference sheet listing no fewer than 35 estimation techniques. Demystifying the black art by steve mcconnell get software estimation. I must admit, i was very surprised to see an excellent source on software development time and cost estimation from microsoft press.
Estimation is often done badly and ineffectively and in an overly timeconsuming way. The best estimation techniques for small projects tend to be bottomup. Steve mcconnell wrote a great article called building a fort. The bulk of the book consists of different techniques to actual estimation, which i. A classic story of classic mistakes by steve mcconnell pm. Lessons in software estimation where he tells us the story how he built a fort for his children and what classic mistakes he did during this adventure. Besides, code complete, mcconnell is also the author of software estimation and rapid development. Effort estimates may be used as input to project plans, iteration plans, budgets, investment analyses, pricing processes and bidding rounds. Steve mcconnell is chief software engineer at construx software where he oversees construxs software engineering practices. Sep 27, 2007 steve mcconnell wrote a great article called building a fort. Part of being an effective estimator is understanding that different estimation techniques should be used for different kinds of estimates. In fact, generating accurate estimates is straightforwardonce you understand the art of creating them. Software estimation by steve mcconnell the wit and.
The cone of uncertainty introduction to software estimations cone of uncertainty narrowing the cone of uncertainty relationship between the cone of uncertainty and commitment the cone of uncertainty and iterative development related resources introduction to the cone of uncertainty early in a project, specific details of the nature of the software to be built, details. Steve mcconnell is recognized as one of the premier authors and voices in the development community. Another software is from construx which is free to use and can be downloaded from here. In this intense code complete ondemand class you will learn dozens of proven tips, techniques, and principles to produce clean, industrial strength code.
After we shared estimation thoughts on twitter, we received a question in the slack group. Steve has worked on software projects at microsoft, boeing, and other seattlearea. Topics include when and why businesses need estimates and when they dont need them. In software development, effort estimation is the process of predicting the most realistic amount of effort expressed in terms of personhours or money required to develop or maintain software based on incomplete, uncertain and noisy input. Once again the disagreement is down to how you define estimation. If you are estimating a defined solution then this point is invalid. There are a few chapters about how to communicate estimates to different people depending on what they need them for and how to get them to understand what you are trying to say. I have chosen to read this book because i am in a middle of job requires me to estimate a web project and to put a detailed plan for developing. Its an interesting exercise, so i thought everyone might like to give it a shot. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading software estimation. Demystifying the black art, steve mcconnell explains that the distinctions between estimates, targets, and commitments are critical to understanding what an estimate is, what an estimate is not, and how to make your estimates better. Steve is the lead for the construction knowledge area of the software engineering body of knowledge swebok project.
Software estimation demystifying the black art is a boring book. At boeing, he worked on a strategic defense initiative project. We have now exchanged emails, and i may touch on whats said there. Even though the inaccuracy is received as a result of the most precise estimation conducted by technical experts, the initial estimate can be off as much as 400% on the high or low side. If youre a true software professional, you should develop estimation skill so that you can estimate competently on the 50% of projects that do require estimation. Im not affiliated with this book in any way, i just like it. Good examples for teaching software estimation size. It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future unknown source. In practice, i think the number of projects that need estimates is much higher than 50%. But i think the real goal of software estimation is to be as accurate as possible.
763 1503 654 394 56 110 1272 1558 1113 493 314 101 98 685 697 982 347 739 403 858 607 10 867 1380 345 1249 199 661 654 548