Each year ISBSG hosts the IT Confidence Conference. Software metrics experts from around the world present the latest news and research in the field.
See below, to review presentations from the most recent conference. Also see the archive of presentations from previous conferences
The most recent ISBSG IT Confidence Conference was held in November 2023.
Speakers from the software metrics industry shared their expert opinions a range of topics. See all presentations below.
by Luigi Buglione – DXC Technology/GUFPI-ISMA/IFPUG, Italy
“Non-Functional Requirements” (i.e. NFR) typically defines the “how/how much” the software will work. NFRs are a changing and a challenging concept. Estimators must understand how to gather and use NFR-data to improve effort/cost estimations. ISBSG has repositories cater to this (e.g. many maintenance projects can size “Zero FP”).
by Srinivasa Gopal, co-founder of Ramanujan Society for Academic Research & Promotion of Science
Overall, the use of big data in software engineering estimation has the potential to be a valuable tool for improving the accuracy, efficiency, and transparency of the estimation process. However, it is important to be aware of the challenges associated with using big data before adopting this approach.
by Harold van Heeringen – IDC/Metri, Netherlands
Software development projects often fail to meet expectations, exceed budgets, and overrun schedules. The cause is often bad estimation practices. NESMA and the International Cost Estimation & Analysis Association (ICEAA) developed the Cost Estimation Body of Knowledge for Software (CEBoK-S) to improve cost estimation practices in the software industry. In this presentation I’ll address the main issues in the industry and the way CEBoK-S can solve these issues. I’ll demonstrate the use of ISBSG data to estimate software projects.
by Thomas Fehlmann – Euro Project Office AG, Switzerland
Estimate large software development projects more accurately and monitor progress over time
Agile teams measure velocity for performance, based on Story Points. Story points measure effort only. Enhancing product quality, test coverage, removing technical debt, and process-related Non-functional Requirements (NFR) do not add functionality.This presentation explores how creation of new functionality, enhancement of existing functionality, and removal of technical debt can be achieved.
by Karen McRitchie – Galorath, USA
While general estimates of agile projects can be done with parametric models, they don’t have the granularity to consider different agile teaming scenarios. Also, agile data is mixed and it can be difficult to interpret the number the number of sprints/iterations, particularly for benchmarking purposes. A study of agile projects in the ISBSG dataset was performed. Resultant metrics were used to examine productivity changes with different team sizes. This presentation will review the data analysis process, findings and how they are considered for estimating in SEER-SEM.
by Anandi Hira– CMU/SEI
Capability-Based Planning is used in business to help identify gaps in existing capability or success criteria. In this presentation, capabilities and capability-based planning, existing definitions and methodologies for software, are examined. Challenges in software cost estimation and how capability-based cost estimation models for software differ throughout the life cycle, are discussed. A summary methodology to develop a capability-based cost estimation for software, is provided.
by V. Pérez-Piqueras, P. Bermejo, J.A. Gámez – Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Spain
Researchers in Computer Science, refer to the quest for user satisfaction as Next Release Problem (NRP). Research has proposed different alternatives to tackle NRP. Algorithms have been developed to solve this problem. This presentation reviews methods to solve the NRP for traditional and agile developments. This includes: the use of ISBSG data; new algorithms; and an agile project management tool that integrates these algorithms so that they can be used in real world scenarios.
by Carol Dekkers – Quality Plus Technologies Inc. and Dan French – COBEC
Estimating the cost and schedule of custom software development from preliminary requirements or a Concept of Operations (ConOps) document is challenging. Software size and productivity drive software development costs, but can be difficult to estimate. It can also be tricky to master and apply IFPUG FP rules. This presentation outlines a process to develop a data-founded, defensible cost and schedule ROM estimate from high-level requirements/ConOps documents.
View all presentations from previous conferences. Presentations are archived by year and the country the conference took place in. Click on a title to see the presentation, below.
Attend the conference on 10th November. Start time is 1pm Central European Time (CET)
Attend the conference on 17th November. Start time is 9am Pacific Standard Time (PST)
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Luigi Buglione (GUFPI-ISMA, IFPUG, DXC Technology, Italy)
Paula Holmberg (ISBSG, Australia)
Pierre Almen (ISBSG, IFPUG, Sweden)
Harold van Heeringen (NESMA, IDC/Metri, Netherlands)
Maria de la Fuente (LEDAmc/QUANTER, Spain)
Paola Billia (GUFPI-ISMA, NTT Data, Italy)
Full presentation submission: October 6, 2023
Notification of acceptance/rejection: October 13, 2023
Final presentation: November 10 / November 17, 2023
Accurate estimations are essential for the success of your project.
Determine the factors that impact your project’s productivity.
Learn about productivity, estimation and team size in Agile.
Compare your project’s estimates to the best in the software industry.
A significant proportion of your IT systems’ budget may be spent on maintenance and support.
Learn about the importance of software size, as an important factor in estimating cost.
Discover how customer satisfaction, cost-effectiveness and quality can be maintained with outsourcing.
Learn about the factors that affect the schedule and budget of your project.
Find out about the latest news and events in the world of software metrics.