Practical approaches to test estimation of software applications
Rajesh Mathur · 2013
There are hundreds of approaches and methods available for test estimation. Some are very theoretical in nature and do not fit in a day-to-day project delivery environment. Software projects are living in nature and it is not easy to back track once you build software because every change affects cost and schedule. Due to this dynamic nature of software projects, it is vital that estimation is done in a way that is practical and pragmatic for the timely delivery of the project. My work on software projects over almost two decades, has taught me that software estimation is not an easy task. One has be aware of multiple aspects and dynamism of project delivery methodologies, people working on projects, organizational dynamics and the culture of who you are working for. Further considerations include front-end, back-end and middleware aspects of the applications that are being used for delivery, time constraints and external dependencies. All of these factors make software projects very dynamic in nature. With increasing size and complexity of software, it becomes more difficult to come to a number which represents a sensible estimate. In this paper I will present my experience and findings across multiple projects and practical approaches that have proved useful for me in software test estimation.