An Empirical Investigation on Software Cost Estimation Techniques and Barriers on Agile Software Development in Software Industry of Pakistan

Software cost estimation is very crucial for the success of the software. For this reason, many studies have been conducted to identify various cost estimation techniques and barriers affecting the software estimation process in traditional development. However, these days, most software development organizations are working following agile methodologies. Therefore, there is a need to identify the critical success factors and barriers of cost estimation for agile methodology followers. In this study, a systematic literature review and survey is conducted to determine the crucial success factors and barriers of cost estimation. Therefore, this study might help an agile project manager plan the cost and effort of the software project by getting an idea from the list we have provided after validating the techniques used from the state of the art and industry so that we can come up with practical guidelines.

I. Introduction

Software cost estimation has a significant impact on software project management success. To plan and control the project resource, the software cost management key process area is used [1]. For the most part, software cost estimation incorporates effort estimation and schedule estimation, and it might be referred to as asset estimation, software estimation, or project estimation in existing literature [2]. It is a primary software management task and is project planning, bidding, and cost control. The focus on cost estimation models has become the need of the development context, is highly observed [3]. Nowadays, many software development organizations are working under the umbrella of agile methodologies [4]. In Agile, the software is developed in small iterations, and new changes are always welcomed. Using Agile software development, the industry came around with the Agile Software Development Manifesto [5]. The expression of the agile manifesto in 2011, barely a decade back, has carried unprecedented changes to the product development area. To be sure, the change that the declaration has acquired is remarkable [5]. While incorporating software cost management in agile software development methodologies involves different challenges that affect the agile cost estimation process for the particular software project [5]. Due to the dynamic nature of Agile, it becomes tough to estimate cost and time in an Agile environment [6]. Today, researchers are still introducing new Software Cost, Estimation Models. Therefore, the practice of the software cost estimation model is one of the exciting areas for researchers. But still, there is a considerable gap between theory and practice, which leads to software project management failure [7]. There are studies in which empirical studies are done in the existing literature, but most have focused on only estimation techniques [7]. Some different barriers i.e., pressure from higher authorities, involvement of multiple-vendor, over-hiring, neglecting the effort of quality assurance, and sudden barrier, i.e., the current pandemic Covid-19 [3] and challenges significantly impact the software cost estimation process [8].