EstimatorPal is a program designed to help software developers. Specifically, this program makes estimations on four dimensions: software size, development effort, development cost, and development schedule. A demo version and a link to purchase the software for $450 are available at http://www.chemuturi.com/estimatorpal.html.
EstimatorPal can calculate a schedule you input the number of people working on a project and the number of working days for the project upon given the parameters of the project. This is a handy means of calculating things once you know what rate your team members work at. The schedule can then export into Microsoft Excel. This is
useful as you can export the schedule from Excel into other programs like Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Project, and Vertabase.
EstimatorPal estimates software size in terms of lines of code needed. This is handy when trying to break down the software project in terms of who will work on which part.
Another thing EstimatorPal will do for you is estimate how much time each portion of the software project should take, given the size. It gives an “optimistic”, “pessimistic” and “most likely” expected period for the project. This can be handy in cases where project managers want to keep an eye on the productivity of their team members.
Finally, EstimatorPal can also estimate the cost of the software development. It does this by estimating the cost of “Person Hours” or how much time individuals spent on the project. This can help figure in when developers determine pricing of the final product.
The interface of EstimatorPal takes some getting used to. Other estimation products out there may be more user-friendly. EstimatorPal is not attractive, but rather the developers intended it to be functional. If you prefer a straightforward approach that requires some tinkering with (and no built in help menu) it might be for you.
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