Software Estimation Educational Games
COSMIC Chaire philanthropique ETS

Game B • Early sizing of software requirements

Early sizing of the software requirements & management issues

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Recommended: read "How it works" first

Learning objective

Teach students how staffing decisions in estimation influence early sizing performance in terms of measurement accuracy, speed, and sizing budget management. The game demonstrates the combined effect of measurer profiles, expertise levels, documentation quality, and tool usage on the outcome of an early software sizing effort.

How the game works

  1. Select exactly 2 measurers from the 9 available employee profiles.
  2. Select 1 SRS document (determines the number of functional user requirements: 10 or 50).
  3. Decide whether to use the COSMIC Early Sizing Guide (measurement tool).
  4. Confirm selections and proceed. The game iterates: each click identifies one functional user requirement and deducts its cost from the sizing budget.
  5. The game ends when all requirements are identified or the sizing budget is exhausted.

What drives performance

  • Measurer profile - affects the trade-off between accuracy and speed
  • Measurer expertise - affects both identification time and cost per tick
  • Documentation quality - the most important factor for accuracy and speed
  • Number of functional user requirements - determines the sizing budget and workload
  • Use of the Early Sizing Guide - accelerates measurement at a fixed cost

Measurer profiles

Each of the 9 available employees has one of three profiles and one of three expertise levels. Both dimensions influence measurement accuracy and speed.

Profile Priority Accuracy Speed
Perfectionist Accuracy over speed High Slow
Expeditious Speed over accuracy Lower Fast
Balanced Equal weight on both Moderate Moderate
Expertise level Accuracy Speed Cost per tick
Major High Fast Higher
Intermediate Moderate Moderate Moderate
Minor Lower Slow Lower

Documentation quality and sizing budget

Two other key parameters are set at the start of the game and directly affect how the early sizing unfolds.

Documentation quality

This is the most important factor influencing early sizing accuracy and speed.

  • Detailed - all functional user requirements are fully documented, with clear identification of functional users, functional processes, data movements, and data groups. Improves accuracy but slows measurement.
  • Not detailed - documentation is ambiguous or incomplete. Speeds up reading but increases the margin of error.

Number of functional user requirements and sizing budget

  • 10 requirements - budget of $2,500
  • 50 requirements - budget of $10,000

A larger number of requirements increases workload but allows for a better statistical basis for sizing. When documentation is well structured, the required effort can be reduced even for large requirement sets.

Early Sizing Guide (tool)

Using the COSMIC Early Sizing Guide accelerates measurement. The tool has a fixed cost of $1,000, which is deducted from the available sizing budget.

Teaching notes

This game illustrates the practical trade-offs in staffing an early sizing effort and the consequences of documentation quality on measurement results.

Suggested use in class

  • Discuss the trade-off between accuracy and speed before the game begins
  • Have students explain their measurer selection choices and predict the outcome
  • Explore the impact of documentation quality on how quickly requirements can be identified
  • Analyze scenarios where the sizing budget runs out before all requirements are identified
  • Compare outcomes when the Early Sizing Guide is used versus not used

What to evaluate

  • Ability to match measurer profiles and expertise to the sizing context
  • Understanding of the impact of documentation quality on sizing accuracy
  • Sizing budget management: balancing measurer cost with the number of requirements to identify
  • Decision-making on tool usage given its cost and benefit

Downloads & documentation

Access game files, manuals, and supporting resources.

Questionnaire: game-b-questionnaire.html

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