ligett@wivax.UUCP (06/13/84)
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WICOMO Software Cost Estimation Tool Available
WICOMO is an interactive software cost estimation model based on the COCOMO
model developed at TRW and described in Barry Boehm's book "Software
Engineering Economics" (Prentice-Hall, 1983). WICOMO has been distributed to
more than 80 companies.
WICOMO calculates estimates of man-months of effort, cost, and schedule time
required for a project based on its size and a number of additional parameters
(called "cost drivers"). The input to the model consists of:
- The "Development Mode" (Organic, Semidetached, or Embedded)
- Values of each of the 14 cost drivers
- The Cost per Man-Month of Analyst and Programmer time
- An Estimate of the Number of Source Instructions
WICOMO COST DRIVERS
The cost drivers vary from project to project. A manager or software engineer
using WICOMO will choose the appropriate values for a given project. The
following cost drivers are used in the COCOMO model to derive estimates:
Required Software Reliability Database Size
Product Complexity Execution Time Constraint
Virtual Machine Volatility Computer Turnaround Time
Analyst Capability Analyst Experience
Programmer Capability Virtual Machine Experience
Programming Language Experience Required Implementation Schedule
Use of Software Tools Use of Modern Programming Practices
AVAILABILITY OF WICOMO
The WICOMO Tool is an implementation of Boehm's Detailed COCOMO Model. An
understanding of the COCOMO model is assumed of WICOMO users. Neither the Tool
nor supporting documentation includes explanatory information about the
theoretical and empirical basis for the model; the user is referred to Boehm's
text for such information.
WICOMO is written in Pascal, and is currently operational on the Prime 750
(Primos), the VAX (Unix 4.1 or VMS), the Wang PC, and the IBM PC. It is
screen-oriented and requires the use of a CRT.
The WICOMO tool is copyrighted by Wang Institute. It is distributed for a fee
of $70. WICOMO will not be distributed over USENET. To get more information
about WICOMO, or instructions on how to order it, contact:
Joan Kelleher
Manager, Software Distribution
Wang Institute of Graduate Studies
Tyng Road
Tyngsboro, Massachusetts 01879
(617) 649-9731
decvax!wivax!kelleher (USENET) (Include your US mail address)
kelleher.wang-inst@csnet-relay (CSNET) (Include your US mail address)