A Case Study on Teaching a Software Estimation Course

Abstract

This paper describes a case study in designing and implementing a graduate-level course on software project estimation. The course’s objective was to introduce modern project estimation theory and practice through the process of learning through experience and reflection. We describe the goals and purpose that guided the course’s design and summarize our experience from teaching it for the first time in the 2018 spring semester. Our case study shows that a graduate-level course on software estimation can introduce several size and effort estimation methods, and that there are some affordable tools that can be used in academia. At the end students rated well our course and all of them would recommend it to a friend.