Boeing's Estimation Support System (ESS)
Staiger, J.
Boeing Information Technology

The estimation of the cost and schedule of software development and maintenance projects has long been considered to be the sole dominion of parametric estimating models and algorithms. These tools can be very useful, but must be calibrated using historical data to return the best estimates. In addition, almost all require some type of size estimate in terms of source lines of code, function points or other measures

Boeing Engineering Operations and Technology has recently deployed an estimation support system which allows Boeing software developers and maintainers to develop estimates from a bottom-up perspective using a large database of historical data as a reference point. Traditional size estimates are not a required input.

The system, known as the ESS (Estimation Support System) maps directly to the standard development and maintenance life cycle models in use at Boeing Engineering Operations and Technology

This paper explores the requirements of a bottom-up estimating system and relates the story of a successful implementation of such a system. Although the ESS is a Boeing-proprietary system, this paper examines what the requirements of such a system might be and how other enterprises might build a similar system.