A model for software development cost estimation with system dynamic approach

Software development is a complex and intricate process due to the number of factors involved, such as human factors, the complexity of developing products, the diversity of development levels, and the management problems of large projects. In Software development cost estimation, we are faced with many variables that change over time, interact with each other and make prediction difficult. In order to solve this problem, using systems and software dynamic approach, a model for estimation software development costs has been designed and implemented in this research.In this research, the system dynamics approach and fuzzy logic are used to modeling. This research consists of two statistical populations. The first statistical population in this research includes IT managers and software development project managers. The second population in this research includes experts of Magfa Company. The tool used to collect data is a questionnaire. The data and information related to the project of development of BI-software (Business intelligence software) were at Magfa Company and has been gathered from the people involved in the project. After simulating and testing the model, three scenarios have been defined to reduce software development costs, which include: increasing personnel experience and increasing the experience of project managers, increasing the capabilities and competencies of manpower and changing the lifecycle of the system from cascading to agile methodology scenario. The findings indicate that the company will see a further reduction in software development costs by using the agile life cycle model.