Open Source Planning and Management Tool PPMT

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Description/Abstract

Abstract. We have developed a software tool: PPMT (Project Planning and Management Tool) that models a software development project. PPMT allows the software manager to estimate the cost, effort and schedule for software projects. PPMT successfully combines the features of the techniques COCOMO II (Constructive Cost Model) and PERT (Project Evaluation and Review Technique). PPMT is novel in reconciling the sequence oriented model underlying PERT and the financially oriented estimates given by COCOMO II. PPMT allows the planner to reflect the specific constraints on the duration of the project in the estimated schedule which cannot be done by using estimation models like COCOMO II alone. Software developers input time spent on activities and milestones achieved. PPMT uses MySQL to store the project data and provide up-to-date project status reports. IBM laboratories in the UK have tested PPMT contributing to its evolution towards successful application in industry. PPMT is online software, available on the Internet. PPMT is platform independent deployable on Windows and UNIX operating systems.