Why This Book Was Written and Who It Is For

The literature on software estimation is widely scattered. Researchers have published hundreds of articles, and many of them are useful. But the typical practitioner doesn't have time to track down dozens of papers from obscure technical journals. A few previous books have described the science of estimation. Those books are 800–1000 pages long, require a good math background, and are targeted mainly at professional estimators—consultants or specialists who estimate large projects and do so frequently.

I wrote this book for developers, leads, testers, and managers who need to create estimates occasionally as one of their many job responsibilities. I believe that most practitioners want to improve the accuracy of their estimates but don't have the time to obtain a Ph.D. in software estimation. These practitioners struggle with practical issues like how to deal with the politics that surround the estimate, how to present an estimate so that it will actually be accepted, and how to avoid having someone change your estimate arbitrarily. If you are in this category, this book was written for you.

The techniques in this book apply to Internet and intranet development, embedded software, shrink-wrapped software, business systems, new development, legacy systems, large projects, small projects—essentially, to estimates for all kinds of software.