Hey there friends!
We're in the process of moving this blog and all the postings to the new blog at http://musingsaboutsoftwaredevelopment.wordpress.com
I hope you'll follow us there!
Regards,
Carol
Friday, April 10, 2009
Last minute seat sale! Certified Scope Manager (CSM) workshops Apr 27-May 1, 2009 TAMPA FL
Dear colleague,
A few months ago I conducted a series of webinars on Scope Management and the Certified Scope Manager (CSM). Now our scheduled training is fast approaching, and for loyal blog readers, we're having a seat sale!
In just over 2 weeks, (April 27-May 1, 2009!) we are conducting Certified Scope Manager workshops in Tampa, FL. As a blog reader here, you are entitled to a 20% discount for any single or multiple workshop - so register today! (Simply indicate "BLOG" beside your name on the registration form and we'll adjust the total for you.)
Please visit http://www.qualityplustech.com/CSM_training.html to register. Purchase orders and payment arrangements can be made for this seat sale. Register today and make a difference in your organization and your career!
We hope to see you in Tampa April 27- May 1, 2009.
Have a nice week!
Regards,
Carol Dekkers
Carol Dekkers email: dekkers@qualityplustech.com
http://www.qualityplustech.com/
http://www.caroldekkers.com/
Contact Carol to keynote your upcoming event - her style translates technical matters into digestible soundbites, humorously and forthright.
View also Carol Dekkers' general blog at http://caroldekkers.wordpress.com/ ============Copyright 2009, Carol Dekkers ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ============= Posted by Carol Dekkers Labels: Communication,
A few months ago I conducted a series of webinars on Scope Management and the Certified Scope Manager (CSM). Now our scheduled training is fast approaching, and for loyal blog readers, we're having a seat sale!
In just over 2 weeks, (April 27-May 1, 2009!) we are conducting Certified Scope Manager workshops in Tampa, FL. As a blog reader here, you are entitled to a 20% discount for any single or multiple workshop - so register today! (Simply indicate "BLOG" beside your name on the registration form and we'll adjust the total for you.)
Please visit http://www.qualityplustech.com/CSM_training.html to register. Purchase orders and payment arrangements can be made for this seat sale. Register today and make a difference in your organization and your career!
We hope to see you in Tampa April 27- May 1, 2009.
Have a nice week!
Regards,
Carol Dekkers
Carol Dekkers email: dekkers@qualityplustech.com
http://www.qualityplustech.com/
http://www.caroldekkers.com/
Contact Carol to keynote your upcoming event - her style translates technical matters into digestible soundbites, humorously and forthright.
View also Carol Dekkers' general blog at http://caroldekkers.wordpress.com/ ============Copyright 2009, Carol Dekkers ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ============= Posted by Carol Dekkers Labels: Communication,
Monday, March 9, 2009
Scope Management for IT Customers - it's the right thing to do!
I spoke on the topic of Scope Management ("Scope Management - Is it the rainbow or the pot of gold") at the Quality Management Division (of ASQ) conference in Irvine, CA on Friday, March 6, 2009. Building on the 12 steps of the Northern Scope(TM) process and presenting how scope management addresses the major IT development deficiencies cited by the Standish Group's CHAOS report, it became obvious that formalized Scope Management is simply due diligence for IT programmes. It provides the means for Customers to direct the programme and to ensure that what they receive as the software solution matches and solves their business problems. While the IT Supplier side of the equation has been working diligently to improve their processes over the past years (via the Capability Maturity Model and other models of improvement), their focus is on providing the software solution. Where the IT development still struggles lies with dysfunctional behaviors on the part of both sides - but it really has little to do with the building and construction process once the piece(s) of software are well defined. Where the dysfunction is rooted is in the dynamics of the fundamental customer/supplier relationship and how work is contracted:
1. Customers need technology solutions to their business problems and understand that such solution will be a major financial and people investment. Due to factors such as history (past IT projects that exceeded their budgets), time pressure (the director announced that this unnamed project will be delivered by xx date), budget cycles (we need to allocate the right amount of dollars now) -- customers demand firm fixed price estimates before requirements for a program of work. This arrangement is always a losing proposition because the supplier is forced to estimate something as amorphous as ether - in other words to give a firm price for a "bag of work" for which there is not yet a definition! This is like me wanting a new house somewhere (TBD) - and demanding a price before the location, floorplan, or even my needs are known.
2. Suppliers faced with demands for a fixed price solution before the problem is even known endeavor to be paid for the work that they will do to fulfill the customer's needs. Because there is so much uncertainty at this preliminary stage, suppliers see that they will expend hours to develop and deliver the software and systems solution. They want to be paid for hours they work on the programme.
There are several fundamental disconnects at play here:
a) The "bag of work" is undefined. If someone could examine the basic components of the work to be done (new software developed, conversion of existing data, fixing of old system programs, etc) - and divide it up into discrete "projects", that would be a start;
b) Firm fixed price will never work before requirements are known. The work at this preliminary point can be priced based on unit pricing (similar to cost per square foot) by the type of work identified in a.
c) Because both major parties to the programme (the customer and the supplier) have different expertise and speak different languages (the customer speaks business while the supplier speaks techie), communication can be less than optimal. While a business analyst or project manager can assist with this translation of business and techie language there can still be miscommunication because the goals of the partnership (minimize the investment to get the best possible solution versus be paid for the work done) are diametrically opposed.
Here is where scope management and a certified scope manager (CSM) fits in. A certified scope manager (CSM) is a bonafide and experienced IT and business professional who acts as the customer advocate throughout the software intensive system project. A CSM works on average a mere 2-3 person days per project per month - a minor investment when one considers the substantial savings in cost, morale, and communication it guarantees.
Customers no longer have to dread project meetings - in fact, when a neutral scope manager is involved, meetings typically run smoother and the customer receives more professional and honest answers about the work in progress than without.
A Certified Scope Manager (CSM) is a designation bestowed on an individual who has taken the 4 day CSM mandatory training courses plus any pre-requisite refresher workshops (4x 1day) and is qualified to assist the customer side of the IT development equation to ensure success with their project involvement -- and more importantly - with the outcome!
CSM training is scheduled the third week in April 2009 in Tampa, FL. All are invited to attend whether you represent a software consumer or a software supplier or builder. See http://www.qualityplustech.com/ for registration and payment details
Have a nice week!
Regards,
Carol Dekkers
Carol Dekkers email: dekkers@qualityplustech.com
http://www.qualityplustech.com/
http://www.caroldekkers.com/
Contact Carol to keynote your upcoming event - her style translates technical matters into digestible soundbites, humorously and forthright.
View also Carol Dekkers' general blog at http://caroldekkers.wordpress.com/ ============Copyright 2009, Carol Dekkers ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ============= Posted by Carol Dekkers Labels: Communication,
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Industry Journal Invitation to "Premiere 100 IT Leaders Conference" - Caution!
Have you ever been invited to a party and then later un-invited? Well, something like this happened to me earlier in the week.
I received a personalized email from an IT industry journal telling me that because of my stature as an industry leader, I was being invited to attend their upcoming Premiere 100 IT Leaders Conference next month in Orlando, FL as their guest (and receive a complimentary $1795 valued pass to the conference) . I thought that their attendance was likely down this year due to financial times, and would want to boost their attendance by having industry leaders in their audience to further promote spinoff attendance.
I clicked on the registration link in the email, where they asked for further information so that they could process my invitation. THEN -- when I had filled out and submitted the registration form, -- the response screen said that my attendance would need to be APPROVED and that I would receive a confirmation email within hours. Excuse me? The journal management had invited me as their guest - why would someone need to approve me?
The promised email arrived only after I had sent a follow-up query - and, to my amazement - they denied my "Invitation". It seems that, despite my email address clearly indicating showing my company name, they had overlooked that I am an independent consultant who advises CIO's and other "C" level executives in large corporations about how to maximize their returns on their IT investments. I was now un-invited as their guest because I was not a senior IT executive employed by a big customer corporation (in other words an employee of a company who could be sold to by conference sponsors/vendors) - but, if I still wanted to attend, I could do so at a hefty new pricetag!
Maybe I am out of touch with the recessionary tactics that the industry journals such as this one use today, but it reeks of the tactics that banks use to lure people to their credit card programs -- you receive a "pre-approved" credit card application in the mail, only to be "rejected" due to the fact that they sent out a mass mailing of applications to everyone with an address. (Perhaps you remember when dogs , whose owners had opened a bank account in their name, received personalized pre-approved credit cards in the 1980's?) While this new mode of operation is a twist on the banking scheme, it is really the same tactic, and deserves the same the "bad taste in your mouth" response. The simple fact is that this industry journal didn't do their own homework - and prefers to invite "industry leaders" upfront, then un-invite them if they don't meet the demographic they had in mind on their guest list. This journal drops down several notches on my list for their haphazard way of treating IT leaders and subscribers. Their tactics of un-inviting in a bait and switch style of marketing is telling - this journal is interested purely in how much money they can wrestle from the hands of the IT world - not to impart knowledge or advance the industry as they purport.
Comments? Has anyone experienced a similar situation? It's really quite comedic in these recessionary times, and somehow I am reminded of the old Groucho Marx line: I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members.
Wishing you continued optimism - even on the most depressing of newsdays!
Regards,
Carol Dekkers
Carol Dekkers email: dekkers@qualityplustech.com
http://www.qualityplustech.com/
http://www.caroldekkers.com/
Contact Carol to keynote your upcoming event - her style translates technical matters into digestible soundbites, humorously and forthright.
View also Carol Dekkers' general blog at http://caroldekkers.wordpress.com/
============Copyright 2009, Carol Dekkers ALL RIGHTS RESERVED =============
Posted by Carol Dekkers Labels: Communication,
I received a personalized email from an IT industry journal telling me that because of my stature as an industry leader, I was being invited to attend their upcoming Premiere 100 IT Leaders Conference next month in Orlando, FL as their guest (and receive a complimentary $1795 valued pass to the conference) . I thought that their attendance was likely down this year due to financial times, and would want to boost their attendance by having industry leaders in their audience to further promote spinoff attendance.
I clicked on the registration link in the email, where they asked for further information so that they could process my invitation. THEN -- when I had filled out and submitted the registration form, -- the response screen said that my attendance would need to be APPROVED and that I would receive a confirmation email within hours. Excuse me? The journal management had invited me as their guest - why would someone need to approve me?
The promised email arrived only after I had sent a follow-up query - and, to my amazement - they denied my "Invitation". It seems that, despite my email address clearly indicating showing my company name, they had overlooked that I am an independent consultant who advises CIO's and other "C" level executives in large corporations about how to maximize their returns on their IT investments. I was now un-invited as their guest because I was not a senior IT executive employed by a big customer corporation (in other words an employee of a company who could be sold to by conference sponsors/vendors) - but, if I still wanted to attend, I could do so at a hefty new pricetag!
Maybe I am out of touch with the recessionary tactics that the industry journals such as this one use today, but it reeks of the tactics that banks use to lure people to their credit card programs -- you receive a "pre-approved" credit card application in the mail, only to be "rejected" due to the fact that they sent out a mass mailing of applications to everyone with an address. (Perhaps you remember when dogs , whose owners had opened a bank account in their name, received personalized pre-approved credit cards in the 1980's?) While this new mode of operation is a twist on the banking scheme, it is really the same tactic, and deserves the same the "bad taste in your mouth" response. The simple fact is that this industry journal didn't do their own homework - and prefers to invite "industry leaders" upfront, then un-invite them if they don't meet the demographic they had in mind on their guest list. This journal drops down several notches on my list for their haphazard way of treating IT leaders and subscribers. Their tactics of un-inviting in a bait and switch style of marketing is telling - this journal is interested purely in how much money they can wrestle from the hands of the IT world - not to impart knowledge or advance the industry as they purport.
Comments? Has anyone experienced a similar situation? It's really quite comedic in these recessionary times, and somehow I am reminded of the old Groucho Marx line: I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members.
Wishing you continued optimism - even on the most depressing of newsdays!
Regards,
Carol Dekkers
Carol Dekkers email: dekkers@qualityplustech.com
http://www.qualityplustech.com/
http://www.caroldekkers.com/
Contact Carol to keynote your upcoming event - her style translates technical matters into digestible soundbites, humorously and forthright.
View also Carol Dekkers' general blog at http://caroldekkers.wordpress.com/
============Copyright 2009, Carol Dekkers ALL RIGHTS RESERVED =============
Posted by Carol Dekkers Labels: Communication,
Monday, January 26, 2009
The more things change... the more they stay the same
As I was perusing through about a year's worth of industry journals accumulating as they do in a pile in the corner of my office, I was hit with a flash of deja vu. Some of the journals hidden in the corners had actually been there for more than 24 months, and I was amazed to discover that this depression/recession/financial crisis we are in is not new. In fact, for the majority of years in this new millenium - we've been in a downturn!
This continuing trend - Information Week headlines from 2003 declared job hunting woes were in full swing back then - has been going on for years - albeit not in as dramatic as today - but the situation is not strikingly new. It's just taken us the aggregation of a pile of small things (and big things such as the Wall Street collapse) to realize the full gravity of the situation.
Having said this, there are two major thoughts that come to mind when we apply this same trend to software development:
1. This too will pass (it always does); and
2. The more things change, the more things stay the same.
Let me explain:
"This too will pass" - in the heat of our current crisis where software development budgets, projects, contracts, have been curtailed and layoffs announced, companies have reacted in the typical cocooning mode by burying their heads and cutting out any "superfluous spending" such as training, travel, conferences, process improvement and measurement. Yet, again and again, we know in our hearts and minds that this current crisis will pass and that this is the IDEAL TIME to invest (wisely) in just that very training to upgrade our workforces, exchanging information at conferences with best-in-class organizations, and investing strategically in process improvement and sustainable measurement initiatives so that we are ready, lean, and mean when the current situation passes (as it will). Corporations simply do not seem to learn, and instead of truly relying on the ingenuity and innovativeness of the America we know and love, they fall back on the scrimping and saving mode (like hiding money between mattresses) that worked for our forefathers but which has been proven to worsen (not improve) the competitiveness of a corporation when we come out of the current temporary crisis.
2. The more things change, the more they stay the same...
What I mean by this is that the more an industry finally embraces a particular concept, methodology, or newfangled approach, the more that nothing really changes. For example, take the current case of the adoption of agile methods of software development. While the proponents tout statistics based mostly on intuition and gut feel (proclamations such as agile is the only way to develop software today, bar none), the contrarians proclaim that the approach does not progress the industry but rather takes us back a step. They profess that agile is imperfect for all applications, do not provide a trail of quantifiable measurements, do not provide adequate documentation or commented code, and do not provide a solid system architecture to sustain the functionality into the future.
So what happens next? Following in the historical cycle, the current agile methods will begin to crumble (and be torn apart by some of the early adopters who now see the folly in some of the less disciplined aspects of the methodology), a "new and improved and evolutionary" approach will be devised and introduced, and the masses will go back to the tried and true (waterfall methodology) that does not work when agile is needed - and a new convincing and influencing cycle will start to convince the software development industry to try the new and improved "whatever approach".
So the more that things change, the more they seem to stay the same. Interesting culture of change n'est-ce pas?
This week I am facilitating a different set of workshops on Global Projects with Cultural Diversity and the question arose about the changing of a country's culture (such as India or China) based on the amount of outsourcing that is happening. While the pace of technology change can be rapid and pervasive, the change of a culture is extremely slow - proving again that the more things change, the more things stay the same.
Stay warm this February wherever you are (or cool if you are in Australia facing this month's record high temperatures of +40C!) - and have a good week.
I'll be back next week with more of the same - and a little bit of different! Happy development.
p.s., Here's a humorous photo from the icy streets of Santa Fe, NM during New Year's week this year. The Danger sign was missing a few letters.... Enjoy!
Regards,
Carol Dekkers
Carol Dekkers email: dekkers@qualityplustech.com
http://www.qualityplustech.com/
http://www.caroldekkers.com/
Contact Carol for your keynote and speaking needs - she translates technical subjects into easily digestible soundbites - in a humorous and forthright manner. See http://www.caroldekkers.com/ for details of topics and opportunities.
View also Carol Dekkers' general blog at http://caroldekkers.wordpress.com/
============Copyright 2009, Carol Dekkers ALL RIGHTS RESERVED =============
This continuing trend - Information Week headlines from 2003 declared job hunting woes were in full swing back then - has been going on for years - albeit not in as dramatic as today - but the situation is not strikingly new. It's just taken us the aggregation of a pile of small things (and big things such as the Wall Street collapse) to realize the full gravity of the situation.
Having said this, there are two major thoughts that come to mind when we apply this same trend to software development:
1. This too will pass (it always does); and
2. The more things change, the more things stay the same.
Let me explain:
"This too will pass" - in the heat of our current crisis where software development budgets, projects, contracts, have been curtailed and layoffs announced, companies have reacted in the typical cocooning mode by burying their heads and cutting out any "superfluous spending" such as training, travel, conferences, process improvement and measurement. Yet, again and again, we know in our hearts and minds that this current crisis will pass and that this is the IDEAL TIME to invest (wisely) in just that very training to upgrade our workforces, exchanging information at conferences with best-in-class organizations, and investing strategically in process improvement and sustainable measurement initiatives so that we are ready, lean, and mean when the current situation passes (as it will). Corporations simply do not seem to learn, and instead of truly relying on the ingenuity and innovativeness of the America we know and love, they fall back on the scrimping and saving mode (like hiding money between mattresses) that worked for our forefathers but which has been proven to worsen (not improve) the competitiveness of a corporation when we come out of the current temporary crisis.
2. The more things change, the more they stay the same...
What I mean by this is that the more an industry finally embraces a particular concept, methodology, or newfangled approach, the more that nothing really changes. For example, take the current case of the adoption of agile methods of software development. While the proponents tout statistics based mostly on intuition and gut feel (proclamations such as agile is the only way to develop software today, bar none), the contrarians proclaim that the approach does not progress the industry but rather takes us back a step. They profess that agile is imperfect for all applications, do not provide a trail of quantifiable measurements, do not provide adequate documentation or commented code, and do not provide a solid system architecture to sustain the functionality into the future.
So what happens next? Following in the historical cycle, the current agile methods will begin to crumble (and be torn apart by some of the early adopters who now see the folly in some of the less disciplined aspects of the methodology), a "new and improved and evolutionary" approach will be devised and introduced, and the masses will go back to the tried and true (waterfall methodology) that does not work when agile is needed - and a new convincing and influencing cycle will start to convince the software development industry to try the new and improved "whatever approach".
So the more that things change, the more they seem to stay the same. Interesting culture of change n'est-ce pas?
This week I am facilitating a different set of workshops on Global Projects with Cultural Diversity and the question arose about the changing of a country's culture (such as India or China) based on the amount of outsourcing that is happening. While the pace of technology change can be rapid and pervasive, the change of a culture is extremely slow - proving again that the more things change, the more things stay the same.
Stay warm this February wherever you are (or cool if you are in Australia facing this month's record high temperatures of +40C!) - and have a good week.
I'll be back next week with more of the same - and a little bit of different! Happy development.
p.s., Here's a humorous photo from the icy streets of Santa Fe, NM during New Year's week this year. The Danger sign was missing a few letters.... Enjoy!
Regards,
Carol Dekkers
Carol Dekkers email: dekkers@qualityplustech.com
http://www.qualityplustech.com/
http://www.caroldekkers.com/
Contact Carol for your keynote and speaking needs - she translates technical subjects into easily digestible soundbites - in a humorous and forthright manner. See http://www.caroldekkers.com/ for details of topics and opportunities.
View also Carol Dekkers' general blog at http://caroldekkers.wordpress.com/
============Copyright 2009, Carol Dekkers ALL RIGHTS RESERVED =============
Monday, December 8, 2008
Function Points are NOT an Estimating Model
It continually amazes me that there is such confusion in the marketplace and in industry about function points (FPA) and their role in estimating the cost or effort associated with a software development project. First and foremost, Function Points are NOT an estimation model.
(Note: for a basic primer on IFPUG Function Points, send me an email and I'd be happy to send you a copy of my article "Requirements are the Size of the Problem".)
Function points (unadjusted and the "functional size") strictly represent the size of a piece of software based on its functional requirements. The allocation of "points" to the functions performed by the software is based on assigning a standard ordinal number to a "function" that the software must perform (a unit of work). Currently, the most popular methods of function point sizing based on the International Software Benchmarking Standards Group (ISBSG) productivity database are the International Function Point Users Group (IFPUG) method, and the Finnish Software Measurement Association (FiSMA) function point method.
The function point (or functional) size is similar to the square foot size of a building's floor plan (or square m) - it is one measure of size - and it works well as part of determining many things.
BUT size is not the same thing as estimation OR AN ESTIMATING TECHNIQUE!
Function point size can be used (along with MANY other factors) to determine work effort to develop (build) the software. Productivity factors or delivery rates (FP/hour) are derived by taking the FP size of a piece of software, together with the work effort hours it took for a team to build it (based specifically on the TYPE of software, the requirements for QUALITY (reliability, accuracy, functionality, usability, etc), the skills, and WHAT TASKS WERE INCLUDED!
Here's the crux: FUNCTION POINTS DO NOT EQUAL WORK EFFORT HOURS OR COST. While size is a major driver (in the same way that a larger house takes more time to build), the relationship between FP and effort or cost is NON-LINEAR! There are many more factors that just raw size involved in determining the cost and effort to build software.
It may be helpful to consider an analogy (again one based on construction - which is not a perfect analogy but one that serves to illustrate). If I need a 1000 square foot building - can you tell me how long it will take to build? And what can I anticipate will be the cost of that building? The answer is that it depends on MANY factors (such as location, pre-existing structures, type of building: anufactured, or custom or prefabricated or whatever), and many other things. Builders might provide me with an average delivery rate based on STANDARD characteristics (like a standard home with 2 bedrooms and a living room, kitchen and bathroom in the US midwest), and an average effort based on what similar buildings have taken to build IN THE PAST HISTORY. However, there is not ONE rate for all structures - it varies based on location, type of construction, building codes, labor costs, etc.)
The same is true when we consider function point size and the effort and cost it will take to build a piece of software. Consider the aforementioned example applied to software development: How much cost and how much effort will it take to build software that is 1000 FP? The appropriate answer is that it depends on the characteristics of the software, labor costs, methods of construction, AND its functional size. The software measurement and development industry has developed rates of FP / hour and cost per FP for projects with "standard" and similar characteristics (recall the "average" price per square foot or average rate to build?) Note that any "average" rate is BASED ON PAST PROJECTS (that took "x" amount of hours to build a particular size, type, and similarly constrained by quality, system - but there is not a one size fits all rate!
New Book available to explain these and other concepts about Function Point sizing: I am proud of the new book I co-authored with Manfred Bundschuh (formerly the measurement coordinator for AXA Insurance in Germany). It was published in Sept 2008: The IT Measurement Compendium - Estimating and Benchmarking Success with Functional Size Measurement (the Amazon link is featured together with reviews by Capers Jones, and also by Peter Hill (Executive Officer for ISBSG at http://www.qualityplustech.com/books.html).
The book outlines and explains in clear English these concepts and presents all five of the ISO/IEC conformant Functional Size Measurement Methods including the aforementioned two: IFPUG and FiSMA, as well as NESMA from the Netherlands, Mark II from Britain, and COSMIC by the COSMIC consortium.
Have a great week, and please let me know what you think of this and other postings here.
Best regards,
Carol
Carol Dekkers email: dekkers@qualityplustech.com http://www.qualityplustech.com/ http://www.caroldekkers.com/
Contact Carol for your keynote and speaking needs - she translates technical subjects into easily digestible soundbites - in a humorous and forthright manner. See http://www.caroldekkers.com/ for details of topics and opportunities.
View also Carol Dekkers' general blog at http://caroldekkers.wordpress.com/
============Copyright 2008, Carol Dekkers ALL RIGHTS RESERVED =============
(Note: for a basic primer on IFPUG Function Points, send me an email and I'd be happy to send you a copy of my article "Requirements are the Size of the Problem".)
Function points (unadjusted and the "functional size") strictly represent the size of a piece of software based on its functional requirements. The allocation of "points" to the functions performed by the software is based on assigning a standard ordinal number to a "function" that the software must perform (a unit of work). Currently, the most popular methods of function point sizing based on the International Software Benchmarking Standards Group (ISBSG) productivity database are the International Function Point Users Group (IFPUG) method, and the Finnish Software Measurement Association (FiSMA) function point method.
The function point (or functional) size is similar to the square foot size of a building's floor plan (or square m) - it is one measure of size - and it works well as part of determining many things.
BUT size is not the same thing as estimation OR AN ESTIMATING TECHNIQUE!
Function point size can be used (along with MANY other factors) to determine work effort to develop (build) the software. Productivity factors or delivery rates (FP/hour) are derived by taking the FP size of a piece of software, together with the work effort hours it took for a team to build it (based specifically on the TYPE of software, the requirements for QUALITY (reliability, accuracy, functionality, usability, etc), the skills, and WHAT TASKS WERE INCLUDED!
Here's the crux: FUNCTION POINTS DO NOT EQUAL WORK EFFORT HOURS OR COST. While size is a major driver (in the same way that a larger house takes more time to build), the relationship between FP and effort or cost is NON-LINEAR! There are many more factors that just raw size involved in determining the cost and effort to build software.
It may be helpful to consider an analogy (again one based on construction - which is not a perfect analogy but one that serves to illustrate). If I need a 1000 square foot building - can you tell me how long it will take to build? And what can I anticipate will be the cost of that building? The answer is that it depends on MANY factors (such as location, pre-existing structures, type of building: anufactured, or custom or prefabricated or whatever), and many other things. Builders might provide me with an average delivery rate based on STANDARD characteristics (like a standard home with 2 bedrooms and a living room, kitchen and bathroom in the US midwest), and an average effort based on what similar buildings have taken to build IN THE PAST HISTORY. However, there is not ONE rate for all structures - it varies based on location, type of construction, building codes, labor costs, etc.)
The same is true when we consider function point size and the effort and cost it will take to build a piece of software. Consider the aforementioned example applied to software development: How much cost and how much effort will it take to build software that is 1000 FP? The appropriate answer is that it depends on the characteristics of the software, labor costs, methods of construction, AND its functional size. The software measurement and development industry has developed rates of FP / hour and cost per FP for projects with "standard" and similar characteristics (recall the "average" price per square foot or average rate to build?) Note that any "average" rate is BASED ON PAST PROJECTS (that took "x" amount of hours to build a particular size, type, and similarly constrained by quality, system - but there is not a one size fits all rate!
New Book available to explain these and other concepts about Function Point sizing: I am proud of the new book I co-authored with Manfred Bundschuh (formerly the measurement coordinator for AXA Insurance in Germany). It was published in Sept 2008: The IT Measurement Compendium - Estimating and Benchmarking Success with Functional Size Measurement (the Amazon link is featured together with reviews by Capers Jones, and also by Peter Hill (Executive Officer for ISBSG at http://www.qualityplustech.com/books.html).
The book outlines and explains in clear English these concepts and presents all five of the ISO/IEC conformant Functional Size Measurement Methods including the aforementioned two: IFPUG and FiSMA, as well as NESMA from the Netherlands, Mark II from Britain, and COSMIC by the COSMIC consortium.
Have a great week, and please let me know what you think of this and other postings here.
p.s., To all of you who attended my webinar on December 3, 2008 "The Certified Scope Manager (CSM) - A New IT Job Role) sponsored by CAI - thank you! If you missed it, send me an email and I'll put you in touch with the site that has options to listen to the recording.
Best regards,
Carol
Carol Dekkers email: dekkers@qualityplustech.com http://www.qualityplustech.com/ http://www.caroldekkers.com/
Contact Carol for your keynote and speaking needs - she translates technical subjects into easily digestible soundbites - in a humorous and forthright manner. See http://www.caroldekkers.com/ for details of topics and opportunities.
View also Carol Dekkers' general blog at http://caroldekkers.wordpress.com/
============Copyright 2008, Carol Dekkers ALL RIGHTS RESERVED =============
Monday, December 1, 2008
Certified Scope Manager - the new IT Job Role - FREE webinar this Wed. Dec. 3, 2008
The Professional Certified Scope Manager (CSM) - a New IT Job Role. – A webinar presented by Carol Dekkers
December 3rd, 2008-- 11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time
To register (there is no charge to attend this webinar), visit: http://solutions.compaid.com/forms/WebinarA20081203?ProcessType=PreReg
Are you worried about your job when we're all expected to do the same as yesterday but achieve better results? All this while we have tightened budgets, less time to complete our work, and little time for rework or risk-laden technology investments. Learn from Carol Dekkers, a main partner in the European Certificates Association for the Certified Scope Manager (CSM) job role, how becoming a Certified Scope Manager could insulate you from a potential job cut.
Recessions bring many things including added stress and discomfort for customers needing to streamline their business with uncertain technology solutions. Fixed price budgets do not serve either suppliers or customers well without solid requirements and in a down-turned economy, timeframes and resources are tightened even further.
The impact of rework, missed deadlines, budget excesses, and projects with missing or incorrect requirements is difficult to gauge, but blame increasingly is found to be shared equally between the customer and supplier. As a result of the ongoing frustration and the lack of an objective third party similar to a real estate agent, software intensive systems development may continue to derail until such time as accountants step in with their own cost-based accounting and other manufacturing approaches to remedy what they see as the issues.
This doesn’t need to happen. In the same way as a homebuyer hires a real estate agent to assist them in their search, evaluation, inspection, acquisition, financing (mortgage), and closure of a property to meet their needs (which may include construction and renovation); a new IT job role – that of a Certified Scope Manager (CSM) – can serve an analogous role on IT projects. Scope management is an emerging concept whereby a "scope manager" works throughout the preliminary requirements through to final delivery with software acquirers and suppliers to alleviate the scope management related ills that plague software intensive systems.
In this webinar, join 4SUM Partner, and Quality Plus Technologies President, Carol Dekkers and find out what is involved in the emerging job role of a Certified Scope Manager as defined by the European Certificates Association and the northernSCOPE™ concept from Finland. Ms. Dekkers is the author of two 2008 books related to scope management: Program Management Toolkit for software and systems development (published by Talentum) and The IT Measurement Compendium: Estimating and benchmarking success with Functional Size Measurement (published by Springer). Carol is heavily involved as a main partner in the European Certificates association for the Certified Scope Manager (CSM) job role, and she frequently gives keynote presentations on software measurement, scope management, global software development, and project management at international software conferences.
Target audience: Anyone who has a role in the success of a software or systems project including project managers, systems analysts, business analysts, quality assurance specialists, software and systems acquirers, metrics specialists, steering committee members, project sponsors, prospective scope managers, etc.
Learning takeaways from this webinar:
· Learn why scope management alleviates six of the top ten reasons for project failure
· Understand the 12 steps necessary for success with the northernSCOPE™ concept
· Discover if your skills match up with the mandatory pre-requisite and acquirable job requirements to become a CSM
· Identify the critical success factors for a CSM to make a clear difference on software intensive systems projects anywhere in the world.
To register (there is no charge to attend this webinar), visit: http://solutions.compaid.com/forms/WebinarA20081203?ProcessType=PreReg
Have a good week!
Carol
Carol Dekkers
email: dekkers@qualityplustech.com
http://www.qualityplustech.com/
http://www.caroldekkers.com/
Contact Carol for your keynote and speaking needs - she translates technical subjects into easily digestible soundbites - in a humorous and forthright manner. See http://www.caroldekkers.com/ for details of topics and opportunities.
View also Carol Dekkers' general blog at http://caroldekkers.wordpress.com/
============Copyright 2008, Carol Dekkers ALL RIGHTS RESERVED =============
December 3rd, 2008-- 11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time
To register (there is no charge to attend this webinar), visit: http://solutions.compaid.com/forms/WebinarA20081203?ProcessType=PreReg
Are you worried about your job when we're all expected to do the same as yesterday but achieve better results? All this while we have tightened budgets, less time to complete our work, and little time for rework or risk-laden technology investments. Learn from Carol Dekkers, a main partner in the European Certificates Association for the Certified Scope Manager (CSM) job role, how becoming a Certified Scope Manager could insulate you from a potential job cut.
Recessions bring many things including added stress and discomfort for customers needing to streamline their business with uncertain technology solutions. Fixed price budgets do not serve either suppliers or customers well without solid requirements and in a down-turned economy, timeframes and resources are tightened even further.
The impact of rework, missed deadlines, budget excesses, and projects with missing or incorrect requirements is difficult to gauge, but blame increasingly is found to be shared equally between the customer and supplier. As a result of the ongoing frustration and the lack of an objective third party similar to a real estate agent, software intensive systems development may continue to derail until such time as accountants step in with their own cost-based accounting and other manufacturing approaches to remedy what they see as the issues.
This doesn’t need to happen. In the same way as a homebuyer hires a real estate agent to assist them in their search, evaluation, inspection, acquisition, financing (mortgage), and closure of a property to meet their needs (which may include construction and renovation); a new IT job role – that of a Certified Scope Manager (CSM) – can serve an analogous role on IT projects. Scope management is an emerging concept whereby a "scope manager" works throughout the preliminary requirements through to final delivery with software acquirers and suppliers to alleviate the scope management related ills that plague software intensive systems.
In this webinar, join 4SUM Partner, and Quality Plus Technologies President, Carol Dekkers and find out what is involved in the emerging job role of a Certified Scope Manager as defined by the European Certificates Association and the northernSCOPE™ concept from Finland. Ms. Dekkers is the author of two 2008 books related to scope management: Program Management Toolkit for software and systems development (published by Talentum) and The IT Measurement Compendium: Estimating and benchmarking success with Functional Size Measurement (published by Springer). Carol is heavily involved as a main partner in the European Certificates association for the Certified Scope Manager (CSM) job role, and she frequently gives keynote presentations on software measurement, scope management, global software development, and project management at international software conferences.
Target audience: Anyone who has a role in the success of a software or systems project including project managers, systems analysts, business analysts, quality assurance specialists, software and systems acquirers, metrics specialists, steering committee members, project sponsors, prospective scope managers, etc.
Learning takeaways from this webinar:
· Learn why scope management alleviates six of the top ten reasons for project failure
· Understand the 12 steps necessary for success with the northernSCOPE™ concept
· Discover if your skills match up with the mandatory pre-requisite and acquirable job requirements to become a CSM
· Identify the critical success factors for a CSM to make a clear difference on software intensive systems projects anywhere in the world.
To register (there is no charge to attend this webinar), visit: http://solutions.compaid.com/forms/WebinarA20081203?ProcessType=PreReg
Have a good week!
Carol
Carol Dekkers
email: dekkers@qualityplustech.com
http://www.qualityplustech.com/
http://www.caroldekkers.com/
Contact Carol for your keynote and speaking needs - she translates technical subjects into easily digestible soundbites - in a humorous and forthright manner. See http://www.caroldekkers.com/ for details of topics and opportunities.
View also Carol Dekkers' general blog at http://caroldekkers.wordpress.com/
============Copyright 2008, Carol Dekkers ALL RIGHTS RESERVED =============
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