Constructive Cost Model

What Does Constructive Cost Model Mean?

The Constructive Cost Model (COCOMO) is a procedural cost estimate model for software projects that was created by Barry Boehm in the 1970s. It has been commonly used to project costs for a variety of projects and business processes.

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Techopedia Explains Constructive Cost Model

The COCOMO model is partially based on evaluating projects by size or lines of code. In addition, there are various other attributes or metrics that apply to estimates, including product attributes, personnel attributes, hardware attributes and general project attributes. In general, engineers may look at phenomena and factors like roughsizing, make or buy models, or detail planning to put together a COCOMO estimate.

There are also different "flavors" of COCOMO in use for business estimates. For example, in a model known as "detailed COCOMO," a step-by-step process includes attention to planning and requirements, system design, detail design, module code and testing, integration and testing, and estimation. In general, COCOMO provides a helpful framework to try to determine the cost and scope of a software project.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…