Resource Collaboration Estimation Tool Communication Overhead
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current resource estimation methods are inaccurate as they fail to consider essential factors such as team skill sets, communication efficiency, and collaboration overhead, leading to project failures and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A resource collaboration estimation tool (RCET) that calculates and models communication overhead between team members, using historical project metrics to determine the types and numbers of human resources required, accounting for both full-time and part-time employees, and optimizing team structure to minimize cost and duration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a rudimentary FTE calculation method is used (total effort hours divided by project months and monthly FTE work hours), then the calculation process is simple and quick, but the estimation accuracy is poor because it cannot account for team skill sets, communication efficiency, and collaboration overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the resource estimation into two distinct components: Effort FTE (based on total effort hours divided by project duration and monthly work hours) and Communication FTE (based on team size, skill sets, and collaboration overhead). This segmentation allows the system to maintain simplicity in the effort calculation while adding complexity only where needed for communication overhead, thereby improving overall estimation accuracy without making the entire model unnecessarily complex.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by selectively adding communication overhead calculations only when team collaboration factors are significant. The system calculates Communication FTE based on team size and skill set requirements, and adds this to the Effort FTE only when it improves estimation accuracy. This avoids applying excessive complexity to all estimation scenarios, maintaining simplicity for straightforward projects while providing enhanced accuracy for complex collaborative projects.
2Measurement precision
If collaboration overhead is adjusted using a percentage of the original estimate based on gut feel, then the estimation process remains relatively simple, but the results are inaccurate and inconsistent
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by using historical project data to calibrate and refine the Communication FTE calculation model. The system learns from past projects what communication overhead factors (team size, skill sets, collaboration patterns) actually correlate with successful resource utilization. This feedback mechanism replaces gut-feel percentage adjustments with data-driven, consistent calculations that improve accuracy while maintaining ease of operation through automated computations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the subjective parameter of collaboration overhead from a gut-feel percentage into objective, measurable parameters including team size, skill set requirements, communication frequency, and collaboration intensity. By changing these parameters from subjective estimates to quantifiable metrics, the system achieves more accurate and consistent overhead calculations while keeping the process simple through standardized measurement approaches.
3Reliability
If generalized estimation methods are used that ignore communication and collaboration factors, then the estimation process is fast and simple, but significant sources of inefficiency are not accounted for leading to project failures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by calculating Communication FTE and identifying collaboration overhead factors during the initial estimation phase, before project execution begins. The system proactively identifies potential communication bottlenecks, skill set mismatches, and collaboration inefficiencies in advance, allowing project managers to adjust resource allocation before problems occur. This preliminary analysis improves project success rates by preventing common failure modes rather than reacting to them later.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements self-service by enabling the estimation system to automatically identify and calculate communication overhead factors without requiring manual intervention. The system autonomously analyzes team composition, skill sets, and project requirements to generate Communication FTE estimates, eliminating the need for time-consuming manual adjustments while improving reliability by consistently accounting for collaboration factors that generalized methods overlook.
Data Source
AI summary
A system, method, and computer program product for resource collaboration estimation (RCET). The method includes determining types of human resources to be used for a project. The method also includes calculating and storing an effort full time equivalent (FTE) according to the types of human resources. The method also includes calculating and storing a communication FTE according to the types of human resources. The method can also calculate the total effort of each team per phase based on additional communication overhead, and derive the total cost and duration based on the number of FTEs. A data processing system includes various means for performing corresponding steps, and a computer program product includes instructions for executing corresponding steps.