Chapter 10 - Project Planning

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to project planning in software engineering, drawn from lecture notes on the topic.

Project Plan

A document that outlines the resources available, work breakdown, schedule, and objectives for a plan-driven development project.

SWOT Analysis

A strategic planning tool used to identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats related to a project or business.

Gantt Chart

A visual representation of a project schedule, showing the start and finish dates of various elements of a project.

COCOMO Model

A cost estimation model that calculates the effort and time required to develop software based on project attributes.

Agile Planning

An incremental approach to project management and software development that focuses on adaptability and customer feedback.

Cost Estimation Techniques

Methods used to estimate the expenses related to a project, including algorithmic models and expert judgment.

Plan-driven Development

A structured approach to software development that emphasizes upfront planning and documentation.

Project Scheduling

The process of organizing the work in a project into tasks, estimating the resources and time required to complete each task.

Milestone

A significant point in a project schedule used to mark the completion of a key phase or deliverable.

Resources

The people, equipment, and material resources needed to execute project tasks.

Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely (SMART) Goals

A framework for setting clear and achievable goals that align with project objectives.

Quality Plan

Documentation that describes quality assurance practices and standards to be used during a project's lifecycle.

Validation Plan

A plan detailing the approach, resources, and timelines for system validation and testing.

Contingency Factor

An additional percentage added to project estimates to cover unforeseen obstacles or risks.

Activity Network

A graphical representation of the sequence of tasks in a project, illustrating dependencies and the critical path.

Which section is NOT typically part of a project plan in plan-driven development?

Marketing strategy

A distributor

Purchases from manufacturers and resells to retailers or public

Which business model charges low prices initially but extra for minor services?

Nickel and dime

The "Freemium" business model

Offers basic service for free and charges for premium services

When estimating task durations, a good rule of thumb is to

Estimate as if nothing will go wrong and then add contingency

What does a milestone represent in a Gantt chart?

A significant event or completion point

In a staff allocation chart, diagonally-slashed boxes indicate

Part-time work

The critical path in an activity network is

The longest sequence of activities determining minimum project time

Cost estimation techniques in project planning are used to estimate

The cost and effort required

Estimation uncertainty is

Highest at the start and decreases over time

In algorithmic cost modeling, the effort E is a function of

Product, project, process, and people attributes

What does COCOMO stand for?

Constructive Cost Model

COCOMO estimation models can be applied at which project phases?

Early design, application composition, post-architecture, etc.

An Integrated Computer-Aided Software Engineering (ICASE) environment typically includes

Application framework, utilities, domain components, and tools for design and testing

The Application Composition Model supports

Prototyping and projects with extensive reuse

Productivity (PROD) in the Application Composition Model is measured in

Application points per month

Which of the following is NOT part of NAP (Number of Application Points) estimation?

Number of users

According to Aaron Rababaah, if a factor has a negative impact on person-month effort, you should use

Negative multiplier row

When converting Unadjusted Function Points (UFP) to SLOC, the conversion depends on

The programming language used

In the Early Design Model, the effort PM is calculated using

A formula involving constants A, B, size, and multiplier M

Which of these is NOT a multiplier used in the Early Design Model?

CPU speed

Multipliers in the Early Design Model have values generally in the range

[1, 6]

The Reuse Model accounts for

Both black-box and white-box code reuse

Which of the following is NOT a factor contributing to white-box reuse effort?

Effort to market the software

In the Black Box Reuse Model, effort PM is proportional to

SLOC multiplied by AT over ATPROD

The Adaptation Adjustment Multiplier (AAM) is used in

White-box reuse to adjust estimated SLOC

The Post-architecture model uses

The same formula as Early Design, but with 17 multipliers

The exponent term "B" in COCOMO depends on how many scale factors?

5

The 17 multipliers in the Post-architecture model are categorized into all EXCEPT:

Marketing attributes

When a multiplier in the Post-architecture model is unknown, it should be assumed as

Nominal (neutral)

High values of reliability, complexity, memory constraints, low tool use, and accelerated schedule lead to

Higher effort estimates

Low values for reliability and complexity, with very high tool use, lead to

Lower effort estimates

The formula to estimate calendar time (TDEV) in COCOMO 2

TDEV = 3 (PM)^(0.33 + 0.2(B - 1.01))

Which statement about staffing requirements is TRUE?

Rapid build-up of people often causes schedule slippage

SMART stands for

Specific, Measurable, Attainable/Achievable, Relevant, Timely

Which project plan supplement describes the procedures for version management, system building, and release management?

Configuration management plan

What is the recommended contingency factor to cover unanticipated problems in project scheduling estimates?

30-50%

In project scheduling, the 'Critical Path' is

The sequence of activities taking the longest time

In algorithmic cost modeling, the effort (E) is estimated using the formula

E = A Size^B M

The Application Composition Model effort formula is

PM = (NAP * (1 - %reuse)) / PROD

Which of the following is NOT a factor that influences the exponent term 'B' in COCOMO models?

Marketing budget

In the Early Design model, what does multiplier 'RCPX' represent?

Product reliability and complexity

What is the main purpose of the Reuse Model in cost estimation?

To take into account reused code, both black-box and white-box

What happens to the total effort when more people are added rapidly to a project?

Total effort usually increases