Khaled Hamdan

A Software Cost Ontology System for Assisting Estimation of Software Project Effort for Use with Case-Based Reasoning

Software project cost and effort estimation has become an increasingly important field in the past years due to the overwhelming role of software in todays global market. Several studies have been dedicated to create models in order to estimate the effort of software development. Most of the studies focused on expert judgment, analogy, parametric and algorithmic methods, bottom-up methods, and top-down methods. Nearly all estimating methods need information about how projects have been implemented in the past. However, this information may be of limited use to estimators, as there are uncertainties in the way that various terms, variables and factors are being interpreted. Two projects that may seem similar may indeed be different in a critical way. Moreover, the uncertainty in assessing similarities and differences means that two different analysts could develop significantly different views and effort estimates. The major contributions this paper makes are: 1) identification of an ontology-based cost estimation process framework for defining the semantics of project development data; 2) introduce the culture factor as it affects the software effort estimation; and 3) development of a software effort estimation ontology system (SEEOS) for use in estimating software project cost in a group of organizations. The system establishes a set of common project parameters between different projects and provides a common understanding of project parameters and their semantics. This system enables project managers to elicit software project features that are semantically compatible with new project requirements. The system has been implemented using Java and a relational database management system and data which have been collected from within UAE companies using an online system

Practical software project total cost estimation methods

Software project management has become a crucial field of research due to the increasing role of software in todays world. When a project is insufficiently supported, the quality and speed of the project will suffer. Improving the functions of project management is a main concern in software development organizations. The essence of this paper is to estimate software project cost by Analogy estimation model, incorporating organizational and intercultural factors was developed and evaluated. Analysis was done to show how such added factors can improve the overall accuracy of estimating the cost of a project.

A bayesian belief network cost estimation model that incorporates cultural and project leadership factors

In this study an analysis is performed in order to explore whether and how culture and leadership factors have an impact on the accuracy of software effort and cost estimation. A survey on software development projects within government departments in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was undertaken. A Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) cost estimation model incorporating organizational and intercultural factors was developed and evaluated. The results indicated that the inclusion of such data into explanatory estimation models such as BBNs could provide useful information and increase the accuracy of final estimates.

The Influence of Culture and Leadership on Cost Estimation

Culture and leadership factors play an important role in software development and cost estimation. We discuss the many dimensions of culture and leadership and their impact on cost estimation in software development. We conducted a survey to identify leadership and cultural factors that may influence the software development process and its associated cost. A cost estimation model incorporating these factors was developed and evaluated.

A Culture-Based Profile Model of Software Evaluators

The paper proposes a new approach to software evaluation, which takes into consideration cultural factors. We use Profile Theory to develop a model that captures the essential technical and cultural characteristics of contextually effective software evaluators. These evaluator-defining characteristics include cultural, organizational, technical, and individual attributes, and relationships among them. We used surveys and literature to identify the prevalent characteristics and then defined a formal model. An illustrative example is elaborated to show how our model can be integrated in a CASE tool. We surmise that identifying the profile of software evaluators is a necessary step to ensure the effectiveness and validity of the evaluation of software systems.

A role of quality of information for innovation: Leadership style and information management

Several factors must be in place to enable innovation to happen. It is recognised that the availability of information and information management tools and leadership style can all have major impacts on the effectiveness of innovation processes. Many problem solving methods exist for decision making and these can be used for innovation. However, any method requires adequate quality of information as an input. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role that quality of information can play in innovation, leadership styles and use of various information / knowledge management techniques. In this work, Profile Theory is used as a tool for the analysis and measurement of information capabilities and compatibilities to ensure the required quality of information.

Leadership and Cultural Issues: Evaluation and Measurement in the Context of Software Development Projects

Abstract—The success of a software project requires the work of highly capable and motivated individuals as well as a strong and capable leader. Yet, it has been repeatedly demonstrated that lack of quality leadership in a project is often a cause of that project’s ultimate failure. Selecting the most suitable individual to lead a project is not an easy task. In this research we present a new method for selecting a project manager, by formally modeling leadership and cultural characteristics. The characteristics sought by the organisation and of each candidate manager are modeled using an approach known as profile theory. We show how to apply the methodology within an organisational context.

Software project effort: Different methods of estimation

This work is concerned with the measure and, most importantly, the prediction of software development projects in terms of cost estimate. The purpose of this paper is to explore the usefulness of recording, in the software project data, the cultural and leadership characteristics of the development team. As a result of the study, a new model for identifying and analyzing was developed. The paper tests the association of these characteristics with the other project characteristics using data from a survey of 41 software projects collected from IT organizations in UAE.