Authors:
Deysiane Sande
;
Arnaldo Sanchez
;
Renan Montebelo
;
Sandra Fabbri
and
Elis Montoro Hernandes
Affiliation:
Federal University of São Carlos, Brazil
Keyword(s):
Planning, Planning Tracking, Process Improvement, Agile Method, Small Companies.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Databases and Information Systems Integration
;
Enterprise Information Systems
;
Information Engineering Methodologies
;
Information Systems Analysis and Specification
;
Methodologies, Processes and Platforms
;
Model-Driven Software Development
;
Software Engineering
;
Software Measurement
;
Systems Engineering
Abstract:
Background: Although there are many techniques in the literature that support software size estimation, iteration-based software development planning is still based on developers’ personal experience in most companies. Particularly for the agile methods, iterations estimation must be as precise as possible, since the success of this kind of development is intrinsically related to this fact. Aim: In order to establish a systematic planning of iterations, this article presents the PW-Plan (Piece of Work Planning) strategy. This strategy is based on four items: the iterative development, the use of a technique to estimate the complexity of the work to be done, the adoption of personal planning practices and the constant evaluation of the Effort Level (EL). Method: PW-Plan evolved from another strategy that was elaborated based on the systematic practice of using Use Case Points, Personal Software Process and constant EL evaluation. Results: PW-Plan was used by two small businesses compa
nies in two case studies and showed that its application is feasible from the practical point of view and that it enhances the development control. Conclusion: The case studies provide insights of the PW-Plan contribution for both the developer’s and the manager’s processes. Furthermore, the strategy application provides more precise estimations for each iteration.
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