Software cost estimation using artificial neural networks

The computer software industry is perhaps one of the fastest growing industries in the world today. With the increasing cost of software development it is apparent that effective techniques for estimating software costs are essential in order to control the costs and make softwares more competitive. A number of algorithmic techniques have been developed and used for software cost estimation. However, calculations from several of such techniques indicate that estimates of development effort and cost differ considerably and hence may pose problems to software managers in committing resources and controlling costs. In this research, an artificial neural network approach is used to model the software cost estimation expertise and results are compared with the COCOMO model.