Towards improving the efficiency of software development effort estimation via clustering analysis

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F70883521%3A28140%2F22%3A63556538" target="_blank" >RIV/70883521:28140/22:63556538 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9803030" target="_blank" >https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9803030</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3185393" target="_blank" >10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3185393</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Towards improving the efficiency of software development effort estimation via clustering analysis

Original language description

Introduction: The precise estimation of software effort is a significant difficulty that project managers encounter during software development. Inaccurate forecasting leads to either overestimating or underestimating software effort, which can be detrimental for stakeholders. The International Function Point Users Group&apos;s Function Point Analysis (FPA) method is one of the most critical methods for software effort estimation. However, the practice of using the FPA method in the same fashion across all software areas needs to be reexamined. Aim: We propose a model for evaluating the influence of data clustering on software development effort estimation and then finding the best clustering method. We call this model the effort estimation using machine learning applied to the clusters (EEAC) model. Method: We cluster the dataset according to the clustering method and then apply the FPA and EEAC methods to these clusters for effort estimation. The clustering methods we use in this study include five categorical variable criteria (Development Platform, Industrial Sector, Language Type, Organization Type, and Relative Size) and the k-means clustering algorithm. Results: The experimental results show that the estimation accuracy obtaining with clustering consistently outperforms the accuracy without clustering for both the FPA and EEAC methods. Significantly, using the FPA method, the average improvement rate from using clustering as opposed to non-clustered was highest at 58.06%, according to the RMSE. With the EEAC method, this number reached 65.53%. The Industry Sector categorical variable achieves the best accuracy estimation compared to the other clustering criteria and k-means clustering. The improvement in accuracy in terms of the RMSE when applying this criterion is 63.68% for the FPA method and 72.02% for the EEAC method. Conclusion: Better results are obtained through dataset clustering compared to no clustering for both the FPA and EEAC methods. The Industry Sector is the most suitable clustering method among the tested clustering methods.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10201 - Computer sciences, information science, bioinformathics (hardware development to be 2.2, social aspect to be 5.8)

Project

—

Continuities

S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach<br>I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2022

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

IEEE Access

ISSN

2169-3536

e-ISSN

2169-3536

Volume of the periodical

10

Issue of the periodical within the volume

Neuveden

Country of publishing house

US - UNITED STATES

Number of pages

16

Pages from-to

83249-83264

UT code for WoS article

000842087800001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85133809040