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Comprehensive Analysis of Software Effort Estimation Techniques: Evolving Trends, Key Challenges, and Prospective Directions

by Sahar Alturki, Fazal E-amin
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International Journal of Computer Applications
Foundation of Computer Science (FCS), NY, USA
Volume 186 - Number 68
Year of Publication: 2025
Authors: Sahar Alturki, Fazal E-amin
10.5120/ijca2025924523

Sahar Alturki, Fazal E-amin . Comprehensive Analysis of Software Effort Estimation Techniques: Evolving Trends, Key Challenges, and Prospective Directions. International Journal of Computer Applications. 186, 68 ( Feb 2025), 42-48. DOI=10.5120/ijca2025924523

@article{ 10.5120/ijca2025924523,
author = { Sahar Alturki, Fazal E-amin },
title = { Comprehensive Analysis of Software Effort Estimation Techniques: Evolving Trends, Key Challenges, and Prospective Directions },
journal = { International Journal of Computer Applications },
issue_date = { Feb 2025 },
volume = { 186 },
number = { 68 },
month = { Feb },
year = { 2025 },
issn = { 0975-8887 },
pages = { 42-48 },
numpages = {9},
url = { https://ijcaonline.org/archives/volume186/number68/comprehensive-analysis-of-software-effort-estimation-techniques-evolving-trends-key-challenges-and-prospective-directions/ },
doi = { 10.5120/ijca2025924523 },
publisher = {Foundation of Computer Science (FCS), NY, USA},
address = {New York, USA}
}
%0 Journal Article
%1 2025-02-25T22:58:09.085246+05:30
%A Sahar Alturki
%A Fazal E-amin
%T Comprehensive Analysis of Software Effort Estimation Techniques: Evolving Trends, Key Challenges, and Prospective Directions
%J International Journal of Computer Applications
%@ 0975-8887
%V 186
%N 68
%P 42-48
%D 2025
%I Foundation of Computer Science (FCS), NY, USA
Abstract

Effort estimation remains a cornerstone of software project management, playing a pivotal role in project planning, resource allocation, and overall success. Over the years, its importance has only grown as software projects have become more complex and diverse. To deepen understanding in this area, this paper conducted a comprehensive review of software effort estimation techniques, analyzing 21 studies published between 2014 and 2024. This review addressed four key research questions, revealing Planning Poker as the most widely used expert-based estimation technique and Random Forest as the most frequently applied method in machine-based estimation. The findings underscore that inaccurate effort estimation is often linked to issues in requirement definition and management. Additionally, the study examines the impact of software development processes on estimation accuracy. Finally, it identified key limitations and proposed future research directions from the reviewed papers, providing actionable insights to improve effort estimation methods and practices in the field.

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Index Terms

Computer Science
Information Sciences
Software
Effort Estimation
Analysis
Review
Trends
Challenges
Future Direction.

Keywords

Software Effort Estimation Analysis Review Trends Challenges Future Direction

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