There is large uncertainty with the software cost in the early stages of software development due to requirement volatility, incomplete understanding of product domain, reuse opportunities, market change, etc. This makes it an increasingly challenging issue to deliver software on time, within budget, and with satisfactory quality in the IT field. In this paper, we introduce the Schedule as Independent Variable (SAIV) approach, and present the empirical study of how it is used to cope with the uncertainty of cost, and deliver customer satisfactory products in 8 USC (University of Southern California) projects. We also investigate the success factors and best practices in managing the uncertainty of cost.
['Da Yang', 'Barry W. Boehm', 'Ye Yang', 'Qing Wang', 'Mingshu Li']
Coping with the cone of uncertainty: an empirical study of the SAIV process model