Reference no: EM132221635

Question: 2-3 pages total, single spaced 12 pt font

Part A: Cost Estimation in the News

Find a news article, magazine, or other periodical that features a project that was extremely complex. This may be from any domain such as construction, information technology, aerospace, etc. Examples include the cost overrun associated with the Big Dig or the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.

Provide the source of your article and answer the following discussion questions:

1. Who were the main stakeholders in the project?

2. What were the technical sources of complexity that would drive cost?

3. What were the non-technical (i.e., people, processes, politics) sources of complexity that would drive cost?

4. How could completion progress be measured on this project?

5. Identify any unique aspects of this project.

Part B: The Constructive Cost Model

Read chapters 1 and 2 of the COCOMO book and answer the following questions.

1. Of the six COCOMO II model objectives in Chapter 1, identify which ones you believe are the most important to:

• Model users (i.e., an engineer at an aerospace company)

• Model developers (i.e., commercial tool vendor such as IBM)

• Model evaluators (i.e., academic researcher)

2. Figure 1.2 is also referred to as the "cone of uncertainty". Comment on the shape of the curves, specifically:

• whether they should truly be symmetrical

• whether they should converge at the point of software acceptance

• whether programs are more frequently overestimated or underestimated

3. Choose one COCOMO II cost driver from Chapter 2 and discuss your personal experience with this phenomenon. Did you experience a cost/effort increase as a result or a decrease?