Question

Erica has completed the use-case point analysis for the system she is building and found that it has 12 unadjusted actor weight points (UAW), 70 unadjusted use-case weight total (UUCW), a technical factor (Tfactor) of 15 and an environmental factor (Efactor) of 21. In computing this Efactor value Erica accounted for the fact that although she is very experienced, has top-notch technical skills, knows how to motivate her teams, her team for this project is partially staffed with part-timers who are not familiar with the system development process being used and who lack object-oriented experience. In other words, she has three environmental factors that count towards the person-hours multiplier (PHM). (a) How many person-hours will it take Erica to complete the project? (b) Next suppose that in addition to these three environmental difficulties, that she has two more strikes against her: the programming language being used is very difficult and the requirements are not stable. Should Erica rethink taking on this project? Explain.

Answer 1

The calculation of person-hours based on use-case point analysis requires a formula using UAW, UUCW, Tfactor, and Efactor, which isn't provided. Therefore, an accurate estimate can't be calculated from the information given. Erica should reassess the project's feasibility and risk with the additional environmental factors.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question you're asking pertains to the use of use-case point analysis for estimating the effort required to complete a software development project. Unfortunately, there isn't enough information provided in your question to calculate the person-hours precisely, as the calculation would typically require use of a specific formula that incorporates the Unadjusted Actor Weight (UAW), Unadjusted Use-Case Weight (UUCW), Technical Factor (Tfactor), and Environmental Factor (Efactor).

Generally, you would calculate the Unadjusted Use Case Points (UUCP) by adding UAW and UUCW. Then, this is adjusted for technical complexity and environmental factors to get the adjusted use case points (AUCP), which can finally be used to estimate person-hours by multiplying with a factor that reflects the productivity rate, which you haven't provided.

Regarding whether Erica should rethink taking on the project after considering the additional environmental factors that include the difficulty of the programming language and unstable requirements, it's not about the answer to part (a), but about project risk management. Introducing two more negative factors indicates increased risk which requires re-assessment of the project feasibility and potential need for additional resources or change in management strategies to ensure project success.