Accurate cost estimation for software with volatile requirements

Abstract

Requirements volatility in the software development lifecycle is considered to be one of the biggest risks during development. Countering this is mandatory in order to achieve success in a software project. Such requirements if they exist and not handled at an appropriate time can also result in a huge amount of error in estimation, whether it relates to cost or time. This paper first provides a clear understanding of requirements volatility along with its major contributors. The paper then mentions some widely-used techniques to achieve maximum accuracy in software costing. In section 4, the paper highlights how costing accuracy can be achieved if the software has volatile requirements by measuring an existing survey's result costing impact on the project. Finally, the paper concludes that volatile requirements cannot be eliminated but can be minimized using the approaches mentioned in the paper.