|
Help Desk Support: Help desk support often represents a large percentage of the M&O budget for a system, and if the help desk comes on-line incrementally during the project, it may represent a significant project expense as well. The primary cost driver is the weighted function point equivalents (FPEs) of help support provided. This is determined by looking at the count of users multiplied by the FPEs of the system that those users will be interacting with. To simplify, users are normally categorized into casual, intensive, and power users with a default system usage pattern of 10%, 25% and 100% of available functionality. There is a single environmental type adjustment based on the application and help strategy, where VL would be a largely self-service application and VH would be an application with significant support requirements. Finally, the calculated help hours are allocated to Tiers 1, 2, and 3 using a 70%-20%-10% ratio.
|
|
|
|
Level 4 was just awarded a GSA Financial and Business Support (FABS) schedule. We now offer government customers professional services under our GSA MOBIS, FABS, and Schedule 70 contracts, and offer the ExcelerPlan software itself under our GSA Schedule 70.
Level 4 was awarded an estimation related contract with Accenture.
|
|
|
|
All times are Pacific Time!
Free WebEx
Estimating with ExcelerPlan
2/5, 11 AM-12:30 PST
2/19, 11 AM-12:30 PST
3/5, 11 AM-12:30 PST
3/19, 11 AM-12:30 PST
4/16, 11 AM-12:30 PST
4/20, 11 AM-12:30 PST
To register for demos, email:
Edward@portal.level4ventures.com
|
|
|
|
Live Training in Sacramento
We’ll be offering live estimation training at the Franchise Tax Board in the Sacramento area on March 23rd and 24th. The cost for the class will be $495, which can be applied toward any ExcelerPlan license purchase within 90 days. This is a hands-on class, so seating is limited.
To inquire about registration email:
Edward@portal.level4ventures.com
|
|
|
|
International VARs Wanted
ExcelerPlan is now available in German, French, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish versions. Other languages can be easily added. As previously announced, we’ve added a value added reseller VAR in Germany (MB-Level 4) to support that market. We’re looking for some select VARs in other countries to help with international sales of the tool.
Edward
Director of Sales and Marketing
|
|
|
|
Discounted Live Training in Sacramento
|
|
|
Sign up for a 1.5 hour live class, taught by William Roetzheim, to be conducted in Sacramento March 23rd and 24th at the discounted rate of $495 with the full class fee paid available as a credit toward an ExcelerPlan license purchased within 90 days of the class.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Overcoming Resistance: When most people think about metric supported IT estimation, they see the technical challenges as representing a large risk. The fact is that the technology is sufficient mature and proven for me to confidently state that no estimation initiative should fail for technical reasons. Where I do see these initiatives falter or fail is because of organizational resistance to change. Estimation and measurement is a core process that has a significant impact on many individuals and departments. While all of the general literature on organizational change management applies here, I’ve found that a couple of approaches specific to estimation help considerably:
Option 1: Estimation as a Service (EaaS)
Most people responsible for projects find estimation to be a necessary evil. They realize that it’s important, but they don’t do it enough, or have enough expertise, to feel confident that they are very good at it. With EaaS, the organization develops a centralized estimation center of excellence, which can consist of as few as one or two people. Those estimators are then available to project managers world-wide to help them with the estimation process, preparing independent estimates on demand. This can be available as a free service, or there could be some form of charge-back (I recommend free initially). Use of the service can be mandated as part of project governance (often for projects exceeding a certain size threshold); or it can be voluntary. The estimation team would normally also do internal marketing and knowledge transfer regarding their services, estimation related processes, and general estimation knowledge. The typical advantages include:
- Improved estimation consistency, accuracy, and transparency.
- Reduced project cost overruns and failures.
- Reduced effort spent on estimation related activities.
Option 2: Web based estimation wizard
With this option we integrate the ExcelerPlan estimation wizard into the current corporate intranet/governance framework. Project managers worldwide that are seeking project approval go through the wizard, much like they might currently be required to go through a risk assessment questionnaire. They would also estimate the project like normal using standard bottom-up techniques. This offers the following advantages:
- The wizard generated estimate will not be perfect, but it will be a reasonable approximation and as such it will be a useful cross-check on the bottom-up estimate.
- Going through the wizard will help improve the bottom-up estimates, because it will trigger the Project Manager to think about things they might otherwise forget (for example, data conversion).
- You’ll have a wizard generated project overall size (Function Point Equivalents), which you can’t get from the bottom-up estimate.
|
| |
|
Next month we’ll discuss 2 ways to overcome organizational resistance when deploying estimation support.
William@portal.level4ventures.com
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
ExcelerSize: ExcelerSize is a Level 4 proprietary high level object (HLO) catalog set designed to size IT projects excluding purchased other direct charges (ODCs) such as hardware and software licenses (which are covered using separate models). The catalog elements are grouped into five major categories:
- Project level sizing components that apply to the entire project.
- Application software sizing components.
- Data conversion sizing components.
- Data warehouse sizing components.
- Application support sizing components.
Next month we’ll discuss each of these in more detail, beginning with the project level sizing components: Consulting (various types); Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) applications; and Frameworks.
|
|
|
|
[This guest column reprinted with permission from: “MINIMIZING THE RISK OF LITIGATION: PROBLEMS NOTED IN BREACH OF CONTRACT LITIGATION,” Capers Jones, July 2014. Full article available on http://Namcookanalytics.com]
[Editor: This column continues the discussion of litigation risk factors from last month’s edition.]
Problem 2: Missing Defensible Objective Benchmarks
Somewhat surprisingly, the other half of the cases in litigation had accurate estimates, but they were rejected and replaced by arbitrary forced “estimates” based on business needs rather than team abilities. These pseudo-estimates were not produced using parametric estimation tools but were arbitrary schedule demands by clients or top executives based on business needs. The main reason that the original accurate parametric estimates were rejected and replaced was the absence of supporting historical benchmark data. Without history, even accurate estimates may not be convincing. A lack of solid historical data makes project managers, executives, and clients blind to the realities of software development.
Suppose you are a project manager responsible for a kind of software project which no company in the world has ever been able to build in less than 36 calendar months. As a responsible manager, you develop a careful estimate and critical path analysis, and tell the client and your own executives that you think the project will require 36 to 38 months for completion.
What will often occur is an arbitrary rejection of your plan, and a directive by either the client or by your own executives to “finish this project in 18 months.” The project in question will usually be a disaster, it will certainly run late, and from the day you receive the directive the project is essentially doomed.
A situation such as this was one of the contributing factors to the long delay in opening the Denver Airport. Estimates for the length of time to complete and debug the very complex baggage handling software were not believed, according to the article on “Software’s Chronic Crisis” in the September 1994 issue of Scientific American Magazine by T. Wayt Gibbs.
Next month: Rapidly Changing Requirements
Capers
|
|
|
|
 Dear Tabby: My boyfriend keeps getting a FAR-away look in his eyes and talking about the importance of proposal reasonableness and realism. I tell him that as long as I get three proposals, I don’t need to worry about that and I can just accept the winner. Please tell him he’s wasting his time.
signed, Popular in Plant City
Dear Popular:
You’re half-right, and he’s half-right. If you receive three proposals, then there is the assumption that the competition means that the selected proposal price is reasonable. And if we were talking about new tables, desks, and chairs here; that would be the end of the story. But if you look back to our August issue you’ll see an argument that that most expensive projects are the ones that fail. It’s exactly this risk of failure because of poor estimates that cost realism analysis is designed to avoid. In this sense, it’s in the best interest of both the buyer and the seller. Ironically, just including the provision for cost realism analysis in the RFP will put bidders on alert and improve the quality of their estimation and scope development processes.
signed, Tabby
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Support for Multiple Languages and Currencies: ExcelerPlan version 7.0 added support for multiple world languages and currencies, including English, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish. The desire display language is user selectable on the configuration screen. Foreign exchange rates/tables are not currently supported, so the entire estimate must be created in one consistent currency.
|
|
|
|
|
|
