The best defense is a good defense: adapting negotiation methods for tackling pressure over software project estimates

TL;DR

This paper introduces a negotiation-based artifact designed to help software estimators defend their estimates against pressure and unrealistic commitments, aiming to improve estimation practices in industry.

Contribution

It presents a novel artifact based on negotiation methods to empower estimators in defending estimates and managing pressure, using Design Science Research methodology.

Findings

Practitioners found the artifact useful in estimation scenarios

The artifact helps in negotiating and defending estimates effectively

Preliminary results show potential for industry adoption

Abstract

Software estimation is critical for a software project's success and a challenging activity. We argue that estimation problems are not restricted to the generation of estimates but also their use for commitment establishment: project stakeholders pressure estimators to change their estimates or to accept unrealistic commitments to attain business goals. In this study, we employed a Design Science Research (DSR) methodology to design an artifact based on negotiation methods, to empower software estimators in defending their estimates and searching for alternatives to unrealistic commitments when facing pressure. The artifact is a concrete step towards disseminating the soft skill of negotiation among practitioners. We present the preliminary results from a focus group that showed that practitioners from the software industry could use the artifact in a concrete scenario when estimating and establishing commitments about a software project. Our future steps include improving the artifact with the suggestions from focus group participants and evaluating it empirically in real software projects in the industry.