SEER-SEM
| Developer(s) | Galorath |
|---|---|
| Stable release |
8.2.38.1 / 2017
|
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows |
| Type | Project management software |
| License | EULA |
| Website | SEER-SEM Homepage |
SEER for Software (SEER-SEM) is an algorithmic project management software application designed specifically to estimate, plan and monitor the effort and resources required for any type of software development and/or maintenance project. SEER, which comes from the noun, referring to one having the ability to foresee the future, relies on parametric algorithms, knowledge bases, simulation-based probability, and historical precedents to allow project managers, engineers, and cost analysts to accurately estimate a project's cost schedule, risk and effort before the project is started.
1966 System Development Corporation Model based on regressions.
1980 Don Reifer and Dan Galorath paper which prompted the building of the JPL Softcost model. This model, an early example of software estimation, allows for automated and performed risk analysis. Softcost was later made a commercial product by Reifer Consultants.
1984 Computer Economics JS-2 and Galorath Designed System-3 based on the Jensen model.
The Jensen-inspired System-3, and other modeling systems like Barry Boehm's COCOMO and early works by the Doty Associates can be seen as direct and indirect contributors to the software suite that would be developed by Galorath in the late 1980s.
In 1988, Galorath Incorporated began work on the initial version of SEER-SEM which resulted in an initial solution of 22,000 lines of code. SEER-SEM version 1.0 was released on 13 5.25" floppy disks and was an early product running on Windows version 2. Designing SEER-SEM for Windows was considered risky as the operating system had yet to establish itself as a viable competitor to the current dominant OS, Microsoft's MS-DOS. However, the adoption of a Windows-based format proved to be worthwhile, allowing SEER-SEM to offer a much more intuitive user interface than would have otherwise been available in MS-DOS. Galorath chose Windows due to the ability to provide a more graphical user environment, allowing more robust management tradeoffs and understanding of what drives software projects.
Since that initial release in 1988, SEER-SEM has undergone numerous upgrades, keeping up with changing technology, adapting to better meet the needs of the customer, and altering the model to achieve more precise estimates. For example, the 1994 release of SEER-SEM version 4 included major enhancements to the core math behind the model, handling the realities of projects rather than just a Rayleigh curve approximation, as well as dozens more knowledge bases and the latest research in software science and complexity metrics. 2003 saw SEER-SEM add significant new features such as Goal Setting and Risk Tuning. Both features operated as their names suggest with Risk Analysis allowing project managers to make changes to estimates and Goal Setting allowing for projects to not only be estimated, but also to be managed. Version 6 of SEER for Software was the first to be fully COM-enabled, allowing SEER to both input and output through various Microsoft products, such as Excel. Version 7 included better handling of projects that stretch beyond their optimal effort.
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