Estimating optimal project duration and cost for software development projects under conditions of team size dependent productivity: System Dynamics Perspective

Findings from our System Dynamics model provide useful pointers to software development project managers. Communication effects among project members, resultant productivity losses and incidental overload are incorporated into this model. Simulating a hypothetical project, we demonstrate estimating project duration and cost under different scenarios as well as estimating optimal team size and optimal project duration. Dividing a project into smaller modules may be beneficial to prevent productivity losses due to communication overload. Likewise, starting a project with larger than required team size may be beneficial to prevent delays rather than to add staff midway to avoid training overload.