Frequently Asked New Product Estimation Interview Questions

Q – 1 What are the tools available for estimation evaluation?

Ans- Here with i ahve given some of estimation tools …

1. Tool name : QUEST
It is Excel based estimation tool. Supports COCOMO II estimating factors, Function Point estimating, and statistical estimating methods

2. Toll Name : Goldenseal

Small business software to cost estimation and project management

3 Function Point Modeler

Estimation tool based on Function Point Analysis, UseCaseModel, Business Object Model and Data Model.

Q – 2 Who does the estimation in particular SW project?

Ans- Over all project estimation will be done by PM, technical estimation will be taken care by technical leader, functional will be taken care by functional specialist.

Q – 3 What are the common estimation techniques followed?

Ans- Common estimation techniques in software engineering

include:

1. Parametric Estimating
2. Wideband Delphi
3. Cocomo
4. SLIM
5. SEER-SEM Parametric Estimation of Effort, Schedule,
Cost, Risk (based on Brooks Law)
6. Function Point Analysis
7. Proxy Based Estimation (PROBE) (from the Personal
Software Process)
8. The Planning Game (from Extreme Programming)
9. Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
10.Analysis Effort method

Q – 4 What are the parameters / dependencies in calculating the estimation?

Ans- Based on FP (Functional Points) count only we will calculate the estimation this will be changed based on Front end & Back end technology

Q – 5 How to review the estimation, what are the check points?

Ans- We have 10 check points to review the Estimations.

1. Define Scope & Purpose
2. Identify Technical Baseline and GR&A
3. Collect Data
4. Software Sizing (new and reused)
5. Prepare Baseline Estimate
6. Identify Risk items
7. Estimate Validation and Review
8. Build a Project Plan
9. Document Estimate
10. Track Project

Q – 6 What is the best fit phase in SDLC to do the estimation analysis?

Ans- Requirements Phase is the best fit phase for estimation.
Once the System Requirements are baselined, the team (SE/Dev and ST )will have a clear idea on the impacts. Hence I suggest the requirement phase fits for estimation.

Q – 7 Can you explain is there any limitations for holystic estimation?

Ans- Estimation is a crucial element of software project planning. Unfortunately, there are inherent limitations in the ability to estimate projects accurately due to the inherent uncertainties in software projects.

In 1968, Alfred Pietrasanta of IBM System Research Institute wrote, “Anyone who expects a quick and easy solution to the multifaceted problem of resource estimation is going to be disappointed.”

Thirty years later, Lionel Briand and his colleagues observed that “Despite the large number of cost factors collected and the rigorous data collection, a lot of uncertainty in the estimates can be observed” (Briand et al., “An Assessment and Comparison of Common Software Cost Estimation Methods,” Proc. Int’l Conf. Software Eng., [ICSE], IEEE 1999, pp. 313322).

It’s now 2006, and we still have problems with estimation.

Q – 8 Use a search engine on “application service provider (ASP)”or other related terms to find what service(s) an ASP provide to its clients who are looking to acquire IT applications.make a note of the name of the ASP and there website address,List a minimum of six service that are provided by an ASP?

Ans- Access to price sensitive materials buying centers
Application maintenance and software upgrades
Business applications hosting
Data backup and recovery services
E-commerce management for web based sales
Electronic workflow analysis
Inventory control
Online help desk services
Online training materials and access to hardware and software expertise
Real time chat services with experts
Secure electronic transactions
Secure application servers within a virtual private network
Service level standards
Statistical reports
User identity control
Web site hosting with email, storage, and routing services
These are list of services that are provided by the ASP. For more info and insights, you may see the company below which recently acquires the successful goal to deliver awesome ASP services: http://www.novelaspect.com/application_hosting.php

Q – 9 Determine a minimum of of four advantage that the ASP has over the SDLC option to acquired IT?

Ans- tough question! i dont think we can get the answer of this