QW2002 Tutorial C2 Mr. Robert L. Galen (RGalen Consulting Group, LLC) Software Projects -- Effective Estimating & Planning Techniques

Key Points

• An in-depth overview, with practice, of the presented techniques
• Skills for how to use collaborative, team based techniques to improve your work estimation
• Not only estimating, but how to use collaboration, team based techniques for planning
• Finally, skills in applying the right parts of the techniques to a variety of project situations

Presentation Abstract

The project and cultural dynamics of planning and estimating are one of the greater challenges facing technologists today. There is ever increasing pressure to “get things done”, so there is little “time” for estimating or planning. All too often, business derived dates or unrealistic dates drive projects. In conjunction with this, teams lack solid estimating and planning skills, usually resorting to “quick best guesses”, then compensating for poor estimates and plans with extremely hard work with a low probability of success. This workshop is intended to provide a review of three collaborative estimating and planning techniques that will enhance and improve your abilities to effectively estimate and plan your projects. Almost half the workshop is spent in exercises learning to apply the techniques.

About the Author

Robert Galen is employed at EMC Corporation in Research Triangle Park, NC as a Sr. QA & Test Manager. He has also recently started a consulting firm, RGalen Consulting Group, L.L.C., where he is Principal Consultant. Bob has held director, manager and contributor level positions in both software development and quality assurance organizations. He has over 20 years of experience working in the following domains:
- Computer systems
- Financial trading systems
- Mail processing equipment
- Medical diagnostics systems
- Telecommunications & network analysis equipment

He has a broad background that spans real-time embedded to client/server systems architecture and development in a wide variety of languages and technologies. Since the early 1990’s, he has been involved in successfully leading software development and process improvement initiatives. Areas of particular interest include:
- Requirement analysis and management
- Software project management
- Software quality, testing and metrics
- Software leadership and development team dynamics

Bob is an active member of ACM, ASQ, IEEE/CS, PMI and active (Program & Publicity Chair) in the local RTP-SPIN group - www.rtpspin.org. He is passionate about and committed to the profession of software engineering and product development.