In this lesson, you estimate the number of developers required over a period of time. You project your estimates graphically using a graphical editor. The value for the point is displayed on the vertical axis. The time period for the point is displayed on the horizontal axis.
In this tutorial, you make these assumptions:
▪ The engineers required for the project will not exceed 50 in number.
▪ The project life cycle is from 2014 to 2015.
▪ The project is delivered to the market in 2Q 2014.
▪ The period from project start to 1Q 2014 will be the time invested on research and development effort, and the number of engineers required will be considerably high.
▪ The period from 1Q 2014 to 2Q 2014 will be the time when the development effort would see a rise, and the number of developers required will be high.
▪ The period from 2Q 2015 to 4Q 2015 will be the time when the development effort would decline, and the number of developers required will gradually drop to a minimum number.
To estimate the number of developers required throughout the project life cycle
1 In the Engineers stream, click the Estimates tab.
2 Change the value in the Y axis to fifty, considering that the engineers required will not exceed 50 in number.
▪ Double-click the highest value in Y axis.
▪ Enter the value 50. The range in the Y axis changes from 0 to 50.
3 Set the delivery date of the mobile application to the second quarter of 2014.
4 In the X-axis, double-click the blue color .
A window to set the delivery date is displayed.
5 Click the calendar icon and set the date to 15 June 2014.
6 Use the graphical editor and project your assumptions of the number of developers required over time.
▪ To plot a point on the graph, hover the mouse over the graphical grid area.
▪ Move the mouse to the required value and time period coordinates and click to enter the data point. This new data point is the likely, or nominal estimate for the required value.
▪ To enter a second data point, move the mouse pointer to another time period on the grid. As you move the mouse pointer within the grid area, the value and time axes are updated to indicate the data point. Click to enter the data point.
▪ A new likely estimate is automatically entered and a line is drawn between the first and second estimates. Any data between the two estimates is added based on the trajectory of the connecting line.
▪ Enter new data points by moving the mouse pointer and clicking to capture the data points. A smooth curve is drawn from the data points and data is added from your input. The curve for the likely estimate is drawn in the grid area.
▪ Click above the likely curve and plot the data points for the high estimates. The curve for the high estimate is drawn in the grid area.
▪ Click below the likely curve and plot the data points for the low estimates. The curve for the low estimate is drawn in the grid area.
Note Alternatively, you can also use the table and enter your estimates. The value that you enter in the table will be simultaneously plotted in the grid area.
The graph for high, likely, and low estimates are plotted in the grid area. The value in the graph is also reflected in the table below the grid area.
Lesson checkpoint
In this lesson, you learned to:
▪ Set the maximum range for the requirement of developers for the project.
▪ Set the delivery date of the project.
▪ Capture data points to plot the high, likely and low estimates for the development resource throughout the lifetime of the project.
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