Category: cost

The Big Development Project: How much should it cost?

September 3, 2008 by Peter Stevens

Picture courtesy of irene.@Flickr

Some people think that agile and budgeting are incompatible. The product is ready when the product owner says it is. But before starting a project, most managers want at a least budget. So the product owner puts together his wish list and asks the ScrumMaster what it will cost to build. The answer comes back — usually a long time and whole lot of money! Then the customer turns pale as he tries to decide what it will really cost, whether he can afford it and whether it's worth it.

But there is a better way: the product owner can perform a double worst case analysis. This quick and easy tool uses the project's business value to determine a reasonable price for the software investment.