Where are we? A Review of Effort and Cost Estimation Techniques used for Web Applications

The rapid growth of the World Wide Web(WWW) and the growing demand for web sites and web applications to compliment and even replace business processes have witnessed an equally rapid growth in the number of companies offering web development solutions. A reliable effort and cost estimation approach can help companies bid and compete for web development projects and more importantly, assist in timely and within budget development of projects undertaken. This paper examines the literature on Effort and Cost Estimation Techniques for both Web Applications and Traditional Software Applications and the effort and cost estimation techniques used. It attempts to argue that web applications have inherent differences compared to traditional software applications to merit customised estimation approaches from traditional software effort estimation through. However, we suggest some areas where web applications may have converging characteristics to traditional software applications and that the techniques used currently in traditional software estimation may be useful to explore for web application estimation. This paper concludes by suggesting some recommendations for consideration.

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