This book was just released in ebook and is due in hardcopy soon http://www.porterlearning.com/publications.html "Estimation with Use Cases: A Simple and Effective Approach to Estimating Software Projects" by Jon Porter. The primary goal of this publication is to provide a simple method of forming useful estimates of time and effort in the early phases of object oriented software projects. The estimation methodology presented here is based on Use Case Point Analysis, a derivative of Function Point Analysis. This publication includes a point-by-point process on how to perform estimation and requires no special knowledge beyond this writing to implement. The author has been successfully using this method for 8 years and has estimated over 200 projects. What is most remarkable is that a useful project estimate can be made in about an hour using relevant high-level use cases.
