ABSTRACT
General Project Estimation This is the one topic that can make or break any company. If you are not good at project cost estimation, you may lose your shirt pricing things! Conversely, if you really understand your costs, you can price your work to be profitable. This software process model is very aware of and supportive of gaining the following estimation data:
Financial costs Durations Resources Special needs (e.g., labs, training)
Having worked in the DoD contracting business for many years, I know that the days of putting in low bids to get work and then adjusting costs later have long gone. I worked at one place where the submitted bid was so out-of-bed with costs that the company lost a ton of money. I realize that there are times when you might want to purposely have a “loss leader” to:
Expand your customer base Get inroads into some industry Cultivate a particular important customer Introduce a new product, etc.
