Question

A software manager is in charge of the development of a safety – critical software system, which is designed to control a radio therapy machine to treat patients suffering from cancer. This system is embedded in the machine and must run on a special-purpose processor with a fixed amount of memory (256MB). The machine communicates with a patient database system to obtain the details of the patient and, after treatment, automatically records the radiation dose delivered and other treatment details in the database.The COCOMO method is used to estimate the effort requires to develop this system and an estimate of 26 person-month is computed. All cost driver multipliers where set to 1 when making this estimate.Explain why this estimate should be adjusted to take project, personnel, product, and organizational factors into account. Suggest four factors that may have sufficient effect on the initial COCOMO estimate and propose possible values for these factors. Justify why you have included each factor.

Answer 1

The initial COCOMO estimate should be adjusted to account for project, personnel, product, and organizational factors. Four factors that may affect the estimate are team experience, complexity of the software, technological constraints, and organizational support.

Step-by-step explanation:

The initial COCOMO estimate of 26 person-months should be adjusted to take project, personnel, product, and organizational factors into account. This is because these factors can significantly impact the effort required to develop the safety-critical software system. Four factors that may have a sufficient effect on the initial COCOMO estimate are:

1. Team Experience: If the software manager has a team with extensive experience in developing safety-critical systems, the estimate may be adjusted downwards.
2. Complexity of the Software: If the software system is highly complex with intricate algorithmic requirements, the estimate may need to be adjusted upwards.
3. Technological Constraints: If the special-purpose processor or the limited memory pose challenges in implementing the software, the estimate may be adjusted upwards.
4. Organizational Support: If the organization has adequate resources, processes, and support systems in place, the estimate may be adjusted downwards.

Answer 2

The initial COCOMO estimate should be adjusted to take project, personnel, product, and organizational factors into account because these factors can significantly impact the effort required to develop the system.

The initial estimate only considers the size of the project and does not account for other factors that may affect the development process. The complexity of the system can affect the effort required to develop it. A more complex system may require more time and resources to develop. A possible value for this factor could be 1.2 for a moderately complex system.

The experience level of the development team can also impact the effort required to develop the system. A more experienced team may be able to complete the project more efficiently. A possible value for this factor could be 0.8 for a highly experienced team.