Three empirical studies on estimating the design effort of Web applications

Our research focuses on the effort needed for designing modern Web applications. The design effort is an important part of the total development effort, since the implementation can be partially automated by tools. We carried out three empirical studies with students of advanced university classes enrolled in engineering and communication sciences curricula. The empirical studies are based on the use of W2000, a special-purpose design notation for the design of Web applications, but the hypotheses and results may apply to a wider class of modeling notations (e.g., OOHDM, WebML, or UWE). We started by investigating the relative importance of each design activity. We then assessed the accuracy of a priori design effort predictions and the influence of a few process-related factors on the effort needed for each design activity. We also analyzed the impact of attributes like the size and complexity of W2000 design artifacts on the total effort needed to design the user experience of web applications. In addition, we carried out a finer-grain analysis, by studying which of these attributes impact the effort devoted to the steps of the design phase that are followed when using W2000.

[1]  Sourav S. Bhowmick,et al.  A survey of Web metrics , 2002, CSUR.

[2]  Emilia Mendes,et al.  Portfolio management method for deadline planning , 2003, Proceedings. 5th International Workshop on Enterprise Networking and Computing in Healthcare Industry (IEEE Cat. No.03EX717).

[3]  Luciano Baresi,et al.  An empirical study on the design effort of Web applications , 2002, Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Web Information Systems Engineering, 2002. WISE 2002..

[4]  San Murugesan,et al.  Meeting the challenges of Web application development: the web engineering approach , 2002, Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Software Engineering. ICSE 2002.

[5]  J. Gibbons.  Nonparametric measures of association , 1993 .

[6]  Jim Conallen,et al.  Building Web applications with UML , 1999 .

[7]  Genny Tortora,et al.  A COSMIC-FFP Based Method to Estimate Web Application Development Effort , 2004, ICWE.

[8]  emilia-mendes-nile-mosley,et al.  Web Engineering , 2006 .

[9]  Nora Koch,et al.  Modeling Business Processes in Web Applications with ArgoUWE , 2004, UML.

[10]  Emilia Mendes,et al.  A replicated assessment of the use of adaptation rules to improve Web cost estimation , 2003, 2003 International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering, 2003. ISESE 2003. Proceedings..

[11]  Kenneth W. Boyer.  Function point analysis: measurement practices for successful software projects , 2001, SOEN.

[12]  Roger S. Pressman,et al.  Web Engineering , 2001, Lecture Notes in Computer Science.

[13]  Frank Bomarius,et al.  COBRA: a hybrid method for software cost estimation, benchmarking, and risk assessment , 1998, Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Software Engineering.

[14]  Ellis Horowitz,et al.  Software Cost Estimation with COCOMO II , 2000 .

[15]  Emilia Mendes,et al.  Further comparison of cross-company and within-company effort estimation models for Web applications , 2004 .

[16]  Franca Garzotto,et al.  HDM—a model-based approach to hypertext application design , 1993, TOIS.

[17]  Gerti Kappel,et al.  Web engineering : the discipline of systematic development of web applications , 2006 .

[18]  Mario Piattini,et al.  A Web Metrics Survey Using WQM , 2004, ICWE.

[19]  Shari Lawrence Pfleeger,et al.  Software Metrics : A Rigorous and Practical Approach , 1998 .

[20]  Emilia Mendes,et al.  Investigating Web size metrics for early Web cost estimation , 2005, J. Syst. Softw..

[21]  Roberto Paiano,et al.  MMWA: a software sizing model for Web applications , 2003, Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Web Information Systems Engineering, 2003. WISE 2003..

[22]  Gail Miles,et al.  Resource estimation for Web applications , 2004, 10th International Symposium on Software Metrics, 2004. Proceedings..

[23]  John E. Gaffney,et al.  Software Function, Source Lines of Code, and Development Effort Prediction: A Software Science Validation , 1983, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering.

[24]  Donald J. Reifer,et al.  Web Development: Estimating Quick-to-Market Software , 2000, IEEE Softw..

[25]  P. Umbers,et al.  Resource estimation for Web applications , 2004 .

[26]  Emilia Mendes,et al.  A Comparative Study of Cost Estimation Models for Web Hypermedia Applications , 2003, Empirical Software Engineering.

[27]  Jeffrey C. Carver,et al.  Issues in using students in empirical studies in software engineering education , 2003, Proceedings. 5th International Workshop on Enterprise Networking and Computing in Healthcare Industry (IEEE Cat. No.03EX717).

[28]  Barry W. Boehm,et al.  Software Engineering Economics , 1993, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering.

[29]  D. Ross Jeffery,et al.  Using Web objects for estimating software development effort for Web applications , 2003, Proceedings. 5th International Workshop on Enterprise Networking and Computing in Healthcare Industry (IEEE Cat. No.03EX717).

[30]  Athula Ginige,et al.  Guest Editors' Introduction: Web Engineering - An Introduction , 2001, IEEE Multim..

[31]  Emilia Mendes,et al.  A Comparison of Length , Complexity and Functionality as Size Measures for Predicting Web Design and Authoring Effort , 2001 .

[32]  Oscar Pastor,et al.  Evaluating a functional size measurement method for Web applications: an empirical analysis , 2004, 10th International Symposium on Software Metrics, 2004. Proceedings..

[33]  Norman E. Fenton,et al.  Software Metrics: A Rigorous Approach , 1991 .

[34]  Jesse James Garrett.  The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the Web , 2002 .

[35]  Emilia Mendes,et al.  Further comparison of cross-company and within-company effort estimation models for Web applications , 2004, 10th International Symposium on Software Metrics, 2004. Proceedings..

[36]  David Herron,et al.  Function Point Analysis: Measurement Practices for Successful Software Projects , 2000 .

[37]  Mary Deaton,et al.  The elements of user experience: user-centered design for the Web , 2003, INTR.

[38]  Oscar Pastor,et al.  Evaluating a functional size measurement method for Web applications: an empirical analysis , 2004 .

[39]  Donald J. Reifer.  Ten Deadly Risks in Internet and Intranet Software Development , 2002, IEEE Softw..

[40]  Westone,et al.  Home Page , 2004, 2022 2nd International Conference on Intelligent Cybernetics Technology & Applications (ICICyTA).

[41]  Emilia Mendes,et al.  Software productivity measurement using multiple size measures , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering.

[42]  Emilia Mendes,et al.  Towards a Taxonomy of Hypermedia and Web Application Size Metrics , 2005, ICWE.

[43]  Gustavo Rossi,et al.  An Object Oriented Approach to Web-Based Applications Design , 1998, Theory Pract. Object Syst..

[44]  Luis Olsina,et al.  Defining and validating metrics for navigational models , 2003, Proceedings. 5th International Workshop on Enterprise Networking and Computing in Healthcare Industry (IEEE Cat. No.03EX717).

[45]  Peter J. Rousseeuw,et al.  Robust regression and outlier detection , 1987 .

[46]  D. Ross Jeffery,et al.  Cost estimation for web applications , 2003, 25th International Conference on Software Engineering, 2003. Proceedings..

[47]  Stefano Ceri,et al.  Web Modeling Language (WebML): a modeling language for designing Web sites , 2000, Comput. Networks.

[48]  Emilia Mendes,et al.  Comparison of Web size measures for predicting Web design and authoring effort , 2002, IEE Proc. Softw..

[49]  Luciano Baresi,et al.  W2000: A Modelling Notation for Complex Web Applications , 2006, Web Engineering.

[50]  Peter J. Rousseeuw,et al.  Robust Regression and Outlier Detection , 2005, Wiley Series in Probability and Statistics.

[51]  MorascaSandro,et al.  Three empirical studies on estimating the design effort of Web applications , 2007 .

[52]  Luciano Baresi,et al.  Estimating the design effort of Web applications , 2003, Proceedings. 5th International Workshop on Enterprise Networking and Computing in Healthcare Industry (IEEE Cat. No.03EX717).