Measurement of Software Size

Contributions of COSMIC to Estimation Improvements

Abran, A., Symons, C.R., Ebert, C., Vogelezang, F.W., Soubra, H.

COSMIC is delighted to announce that this paper received the joint Best Paper Award at the 2016 ICEAA International Training Symposium in Bristol in October 2016. ICEAA is the International Cost Estimating and Analysis Association.
Estimation matters. Many projects and smart business ideas fail for lack of delivering on time and budget. A common need in every field is thus to forecast and estimate. Estimation is an engineering discipline based on experience, data, transparent methods and common-sense.
COSMIC, the Common Software Measurement International Consortium was created by an international group to develop a standard, ‘open’ measurement system and project estimation methods applicable to all types of software used in business and the real-time world. Estimation and measurement methods are rarely used properly in industry and the public sector, contributing to the high level of project failures and over-runs.
To improve both your project performance and productivity, we recommend starting right away with introducing or improving the estimation process with a closed loop of estimation, planning, measuring, and periodically improving your estimates. Read this award-winning paper and learn about best measurement and estimation practices.
This award-winning paper presents:
1. an outline of the design of COSMIC, the 2nd generation of functional size measurement methods
2. industry evidence that COSMIC has met its primary design goal to be of practical value in software project performance measurement and estimating
3. industry evidence of the method’s automation, including full automation with very high accuracy for real-time embedded software specified in a Matlab-Simulink environment and developed through a global network of software contractors