An Approach to Software Project Feasibility Study Using Stochastic Risk Model during Proposal Preparation

Anton Khritankov

The Request-for-Proposal process plays an important role in software outsourcing field. Correct estimates of project cost and expected profit may provide more flexibility during contract negotiation and confidence in project success. In this paper we propose an original approach to project profit estimation and feasibility study at proposal preparation phase. In addition to estimating effort and cost we use a stochastic approach to estimate project risks and profit for different types of contract: Fixed-Price, T&M and Risk-Reward. As a result, we are able to evaluate project success early, revise project schedule or plan, and present different pricing options to the customer. The approach was implemented and supported by the CPPM tool and at the time of writing is being tested. We consider a sample project to demonstrate how the approach is applied.

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Anton Khritankov

Bio

Anton Khritankov, M.Sc. - Graduated with high honors from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology in 2007 and currently works on his Ph.D. thesis in the field of systems analysis and distributed computing. As a lead software engineer, he is engaged in enterprise software development and process improvement at Auriga Inc. His interests include software and information systems design, object-oriented methods as well as probability theory, expert methods and applications.