A prototype software project management simulator (SPMS)

The Software Project Management Simulator (SPMS) provides a setting for users, typically project managers, to study the effects of their decisions concerning staffing and scheduling of a software development project. The user is given a scenario for developing a hypothetical software project that includes a proposed budget and schedule. To successfully implement the software for the project, the user must select activities in the proper order, assign appropriate staff to these activities, and determine the duration of each activity. The quality of the final software product developed by the user is also important in the simulation and is influenced by scheduling error removal activities such as design and code inspections. The SPMS model is derived from software productivity data and cost estimation models from current literature and includes a data base of productivity factors and algorithms that evaluate the performance of the user.