ewa@csdgwy.csd.unsw.oz (07/26/88)
The book, "Software Engineering Economics' by B.W. Boehm discusses for some 50 pages a software estimating model called COCOMO. I believe some suppliers have developed programs which provide COCOMO estimates. I have not been able to find a supplier in Australia who can sell me one. A US supplier called Sotstar Systems in New Hampshire sells COSTAR which is a PC version. Perhaps someone on the net can tell me how I might be be able to buy a COCOMO program. (I am posting this message on behalf of a friend who has no access to the net, please mail the response to my address. Thanks.) +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | E.Z. Bem, ASCnet: ewa@csdgwy.csd.unsw.oz | | VAX/VMS Systems Group, Infopsi: ewa@csdgwy.unsw.edu.au | | University of New South Wales, FAX: 61 2 662 8665 | | PO Box 1, Kensington, 2033 NSW, Phone: 61 2 697 2920 | | AUSTRALIA | | | | Daily a clever man learns something, daily a wise | | man gives up a certainty, perhaps... | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
ark@ritcv.UUCP (Alan Kaminsky) (07/29/88)
> The book, "Software Engineering Economics' by B.W. Boehm discusses for some > 50 pages a software estimating model called COCOMO. I believe some suppliers > have developed programs which provide COCOMO estimates. I have not been > able to find a supplier in Australia who can sell me one. A US supplier > called Sotstar Systems in New Hampshire sells COSTAR which is a PC version. > Perhaps someone on the net can tell me how I might be be able to buy a COCOMO > program. In my opinion, any specialized COCOMO program is a waste of money. I advise you to spend your money on a general-purpose spreadsheet program, then take an hour or so to program the COCOMO model into it. The resulting "COCOMO program" will be far more flexible than a specialized program, since you have all the capabilities of the spreadsheet at your disposal as well as the COCOMO model. I have programmed the Intermediate COCOMO model into the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for the Apple Macintosh computer. Excel has extensive business charting capabilities as well as the usual spreadsheet features. So my "COCOMO program" not only gives me the numbers, it gives me a pie chart showing the breakdown of total effort in each phase, a project profile graph showing staffing level versus time, and any other graphic depiction of the numbers I want. With the spreadsheet, it's also very easy to investigate the effect of changing one of the model parameters, say, the effect on total effort of the level of usage of software tools. Simply copy the spreadsheet formulas into a new column, and change the software tool usage parameter. Do this several times and you have a sensitivity analysis. You can even display a graph of total effort vs. software tool usage. I doubt that many specialized COCOMO programs are as flexible as this. Also, most specialized COCOMO programs I have seen cost more than spreadsheet programs. For calculating a software cost estimation model, a spreadsheet offers the better value. -- Alan Kaminsky Rochester Institute of Technology P. O. Box 9887 Rochester, NY 14623 716-475-5255 ark@cs.rit.edu
yuval@taux02.UUCP (Gideon Yuval) (07/31/88)
In article <569@csdgwy.csd.unsw.oz> ewa@csdgwy.csd.unsw.oz writes: >Perhaps someone on the net can tell me how I might be be able to buy a COCOMO >program. WICOMO (Wang Institute COst MOdel -- a version of COCOMO) is available for $70 from: Gary Perlman 617-566-6858 P.O.Box 1880 Brookline, Mass, 02146, USA Gideon Yuval, yuval@taux01.nsc.com, +972-2-690992 (home) ,-52-522255(work) Paper-mail: National Semiconductor, 6 Maskit St., Herzliyah, Israel TWX: 33691, fax: +972-52-558322 (alternative E-mail address: decwrl!nsc!taux01!yuval@uunet.uu.net) -- Gideon Yuval, yuval@taux01.nsc.com, +972-2-690992 (home) ,-52-522255(work) Paper-mail: National Semiconductor, 6 Maskit St., Herzliyah, Israel TWX: 33691, fax: +972-52-558322 (alternative E-mail address: decwrl!nsc!taux01!yuval@uunet.uu.net)
vita@daredevil.steinmetz (Mark F. Vita) (08/03/88)
In article <685@ritcv.UUCP> ark@ritcv.UUCP (Alan Kaminsky) writes: >> Perhaps someone on the net can tell me how I might be be able to buy a COCOMO >> program. > >In my opinion, any specialized COCOMO program is a waste of money. I advise >you to spend your money on a general-purpose spreadsheet program, then take >an hour or so to program the COCOMO model into it. The resulting "COCOMO >program" will be far more flexible than a specialized program, since you >have all the capabilities of the spreadsheet at your disposal as well as >the COCOMO model. Yes, you have a point here. The COCOMO model is not all that complicated, and it would seem to make good fodder for a spreadsheet program. However, this could be said about nearly any numerical model; i.e. "any specialized XXX program is a waste of money, as you can just get a spreadsheet and program the XXX model into it." The key issue, though, I think, is user interface. In my opinion, spreadsheets are only slightly above pencil and paper as far as pleasantness of user interface is concerned. This may be why, for example, "personal finance" programs for micros sell so well. It would be easy enough to come up with a spreadsheet that would handle all this stuff, figure out your taxes, etc. However, many people (especially ones who aren't spreadsheet junkies) prefer dedicated, off-the-shelf programs that have generally have a much nicer interface, some quick, convenient predefined graphs, nice reporting features, etc. For some, the convenience and ease-of-use of such programs makes them worth the additional expense, despite the fact that the underlying "model" isn't all that complex. So I think it may be a bit of an overstatement to assert that "any specialized COCOMO program is a waste of money." >Alan Kaminsky >Rochester Institute of Technology ---- Mark Vita ARPA: vita@ge-crd.ARPA General Electric Company UUCP: vita@desdemona.steinmetz.UUCP Corporate R & D vita@desdemona.steinmetz.ge.com Schenectady, NY desdemona!vita@steinmetz.UUCP