This book was a surprise but only because I didn't read the title properly.

"Software by Numbers : Low-Risk High-Return Development".

Fundamentally, it is about project planning and prioritisation and not about estimation.



This book starts with three assumptions:-

1. You are using a feature-driven development iterative release approach to a project.

2. You can attach numeric business value to each of the features.

3. You can estimate the cost of developing the required software modules to implement the above features.



With these assumptions in place, the authors then use a number of net present value accounting algorithms to help you schedule the software module development to provide "Low-Risk High-Return development".

The algorithms are designed to maximise business return and minimise the risk as per the book's title.



It is only 190-pages, well-laid out with clear examples pitched at the right level for me so I swallowed in a week-end with only faint and distant grumbling from my wife.



I will be trying it out on my next green-field project and interested to see how assumptions 2 and 3 stand up to the test.



Highly Recommended.