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Software Development |
Some automated models are best implemented as stand-alone or web-based applications.
Technomics’ expertise conducting cost research leading to practical and defensible methodologies is accentuated by our ability to develop automated tools that provide versatility which is not available elsewhere.
ForeCostXXI and VERA are two such Technomics tools that facilitate informed decision making.
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“[The Technomics Team] has vast experience and insight regarding software cost estimating and in particular the issue of integration costs and complexity. There are none, in my view, who have a better understanding of the challenges of getting good software data and what is necessary to glean insights from what can be obtained.".”
- ODUSD Official
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| VERA |
VERA is a parametric software development cost and schedule estimation tool. Developed by experienced cost analysts that understand the pitfalls of existing software cost estimating data, processes and tools, VERA is different and better than either commercial cost models or simple productivity-based estimating factors. |
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MORE THAN RULES OF THUMB -- Software cost estimates that rely on simple rule of thumb productivity estimators such as lines of code per hour or dollars per line of code do not adequately explain historical differences in development projects. These rules of thumb are unreliable and produce inaccurate estimates. No two projects are ever identical. VERA’s underlying methodologies address these project differences and quantify their impact.
UNIQUE AND SPECIAL -- Every software developer possesses a unique set of skills and experiences that impact cost and schedule. VERA is designed to reflect each developer’s unique development ‘fingerprint’, specifically that combination of project history, development drivers, and custom created estimating functions that are unique to a specific software developer. It matters not to VERA whether a developer uses POPS, SLOCS, Function Points or other metrics. VERA is driven by developer-specific relationships based on developer-specific metrics for completed software development projects for DoD weapon system programs.
WHEN WERE YOU ‘AVERAGE’? -- How many defense program managers in industry or DoD would rate their software development team’s capability as average? How many would say their software development tools are middle of the road? Many commercial software estimating tools require subjective inputs that encourage estimator optimism. It is human nature to embellish, but this optimism leads to unrealistic estimates, budgets and contract prices. VERA is designed to minimize the use of subjective parameters that are prone to optimism. In fact, VERA is designed to use a minimal set of inputs, thereby reducing estimating error due to inaccurate input values.
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| ForeCostXXI |
ForeCostXXI is a parametric hardware acquisition cost estimation package that provides instant access to any of Technomics’ well known parametric cost models. Since 1988, Technomics has developed individual Microsoft Excel®-based missile, radar, communications, space systems, avionics, and aircraft integration models that have been used widely in the DoD cost analysis community. |
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ForeCostXXI users can access the results of years of rigorous Cost Research with the touch of a button and exercise defensible, well documented models that estimate the hardware cost of single systems (i.e., missile, radar, etc.) or system-of- systems (i.e., any combination of missile, radar, C4ISR, space electronics, avionics, etc.).
ForeCostXXI enables estimation at several different levels of well-defined, commodity-specific work breakdown structures with multiple input types, allowing the analyst to choose the best approach for a particular situation. ForeCostXXI’s easy-to-use graphical interface is packed with options and features to ensure that it can produce an accurate estimate under a wide array of circumstances.
Internet standard HTML and XML output file formats ensure that estimate results can easily be shared with anyone at any time. Each ForeCostXXI user has access to a set of customer specific cost models through a web-based cost model menu, which can be updated with virtually no effort from the customer. ForeCostXXI is a powerful, easy-to-use tool with enough flexibility to provide cost estimating solutions for today’s most complex programs. Please visit www.forecostxxi.net for additional information.
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