Better requirements and knowledge of size helps you deliver software faster, better, and cheaper.
Problems with requirements tend to be the most costly to fix. If they are undetected until later stages of the project, those costs can balloon. Not only do you have to repair the problems, but you will incur consequential costs:
- lost opportunity costs
- reputational damage
- user compensation costs
- management distraction costs
Consider: “How much more will it cost if we don’t find those requirement problems early?”
Quantifiable Benefits
- Faster and less effort to find requirements defects
- Faster and less effort to generating test scenarios
- Determining and knowing the estimated functional size
Typically 10x ROI from these benefits.
PLUS Bonus Benefits
- Better planning decisions – from knowing size
- Better project control – from tracking size
- Risk reduction – avoid scope surprises
Further ROI which can exceed 20x ROI, but is harder to quantify.
Quantifiable Benefits of Using ScopeMaster
ScopeMaster typically helps you achieve an ROI of 10x or more in just a few weeks! There are further benefits that are somewhat harder to quantify, which can take the ROI even higher.
The quantifiable benefits are based on reduced effort to find and fix requirements defects, assess functional size, and generate traceable test scenarios. ScopeMaster typically performs work in seconds that might otherwise take an individual much, much longer; it can test, analyze, and perfect hundreds of case studies in just a few weeks. Without ScopeMaster, the quality of work won’t be scrutinized to the highest possible standard, leading to more rework, more delay and more bug fixing.
1. Finding requirements defects
The bigger the project, the harder it is to find and fix critical issues. ScopeMaster can discover one to three genuine defects per user story in seconds, which equates to (at most) six hours of manual labor. If we charge a standard hourly rate of $50, the total benefit can range from $100 to $300, all at just one click of a button.
Average saving per user story: 2-6 hours ($100 – $300)
2. Determining and knowing the size
If you know the functional size of a software endeavour before you start, you can plan and manage more efficiently, allocating the right amount of resources and the right amount of time to software delivery. When outsourcing development, this sort of knowledge at the proposal stage allows you to negotiate a fairer price (saving at least 10%, around $50 per CFP, or about $250 per story). Additionally, the manual cost of sizing is about $10 per CFP, or an average of $50 per user story. Conservatively, we can round this down from $300 to $200.
Average benefit per user story: $200
3. Autogenerated test scenarios
The manual labor required to generate these test scenarios is about ten minutes per scenario. ScopeMaster generates an average of three scenarios per user story, which equates to a benefit of 30 minutes (or $50). There is further value in improved coverage which might be missed through manually generated scenarios. (As this is only a potential benefit, it is not included in our ROI estimate.)
Average benefit per user story: $50
ROI Calculation
Note: in all cases, we have been conservative with our benefit estimates.
Cost of ScopeMaster per user story: $10
Cost of Staff time spent using ScopeMaster per user story: $15
Benefits of using ScopeMaster: $350 ($100 + $200 + $50)
This gives an ROI calculation of…
$350 / $25 = 14. That’s an ROI of 14x or 1400%.
At least 10x ROI, achievable within 2 months!
At absolute minimum, you can expect at least a 10x ROI from ScopeMaster. All in all, we’re confident that this is possible to achieve for most organizations. ScopeMaster doesn’t take too much time to learn and master, either: you can be testing and anaylzing efficiently within two months. time it takes to learn to use ScopeMaster efficiently and then analyse a backlog of 100-200 requirements is 1-2 months. We typically use this as the basis of our headline benefit case of 10x within 2 months.
But wait, there’s more! Check out even more benefits of using ScopeMaster:
- ScopeMaster reduces costly change requests.
- ScopeMaster fixes and eliminates bugs that affect production.
- ScopeMaster offers better solutions at a faster rate, thanks to less rework.
- ScopeMaster improves team morale by enforcing higher quality requirements.
- ScopeMaster minimizes coding the wrong thing the wrong way (again, less rework).
- ScopeMaster respects your time, avoiding hours of writing and re-writing.
- ScopeMaster shortens project schedules.
- ScopeMaster delivers customer benefits, far ahead of expectations.
- ScopeMaster makes outsourced development much easier to manage.
- ScopeMaster provides a solid foundation for assessing productivity benchmarks.
You can expect even higher benefits from ScopeMaster if any of the following situations apply:
- Large projects
- Outsourced development
- BAs and Product Owners struggling to maintain quality requirements
- English is not the mother tongue of team members, but the language for requirements
- Remote working, which leads to a greater dependency on written requirements
- Commercial contracts where one party can benefit from poor requirements
About ROI on Software Work
Here are some additional considerations regarding return on investment for software. Let’s start by thinking critically about how a high ROI might be possible. Software work has become essential to all businesses and governments; salaries are high and work quality is variable. Businesses invest in IT (including software) because they expect a high return on their investment. Working software can bring incredible value to a business and its customers. The benefit (return) of having, and using, the software far outweighs the cost of building and maintaining it. This is why we invest in software.
What is Essential for any ROI from Software
To get full value from software, we must be very clear about what the software needs to do—this determines its benefits. We must also be able to quantify those benefits. In other words, we need to know what capabilities, and what value, the software provides to users. Capabilities can be thought of as “high level” requirements. If we get the requirements wrong, the software might achieve no benefit whatsoever! Correct quantifiable requirements are therefore essential.
If you don’t know where you want to get to, you are unlikely to get there.
(Thanks to Lewis Caroll for those universal words of wisdom.)
ScopeMaster brings automation to this neglected aspect of software work: the requirements. The key to ScopeMaster’s high ROI is that it solves problems sooner that otherwise would cause costly waste and delay.
Defects in Requirements and Defects in Software
Much time and attention is devoted to software working correctly. Its requirements are considered to be the reference for what is meant by correct. Approximately 15 to 30 percent of observed problems in production systems are caused by poor or incomplete requirements, undermining the benefit of delivering the software in the first place.
The cost of poor requirements
On average, a software requirement is 5 CFP in size, with a typical build cost of $3500. A mistaken requirement can necessitate a serious revision of that software, i.e. costing an additional $3500. However, if the defects are found later in production, and they affect users, the total cost of poor requirements increase dramatically, including:
- The direct cost of the extra work to fix incorrect requirements, architecture, design, code, tests, and documentation.
- The opportunity cost of fixing this problem vs. working on other valuable things.
- The disruption cost of coping with the problem until it is fixed.
- The consequential cost to users of incorrect or insufficient software.
- Other consequential costs, such as brand damage.
Therefore, when we think about the cost of poor requirements, we need to think of them in the context of their overall impact. A requirement defect found and fixed in production may cost tens of thousands of dollars in the long run. If the same requirement problem was fixed before coding ever began, the total fix cost might only amount to a few hundred dollars (or potentially even less). Because mistakes can prove so costly, the benefits of finding and fixing problems are immeasurable.
More ScopeMaster = More Value
ScopeMaster actively keeps track of its own work. When you use ScopeMaster, you can show your boss just how much it contributes to the overall success of your project.
ScopeMaster calculates the value of the work it performs, as it goes.
“So What?”
Almost every modern company is a software company. Delivering software faster, and with greater certainty, is a serious strategic concern. Companies that do not deliver software-based innovation will inevitably fall behind others. ScopeMaster leads the pack in innovation, making a monumental difference on every project imaginable—including your largest, riskiest software projects. ScopeMaster reduces scope volatility, reduces rework, reduces timelines, reduces risk, and much more.
Can you afford to let your competitors discover the power of ScopeMaster first?
ROI Explained
ROI assesses the benefit of an investment decision relative to the investment’s cost, calculated as the overall benefit divided by the overall cost. ROI is commonly used as the initial calculation to determine the worthiness of a decision to change—or make—an investment. If the net benefit far exceeds the cost, the benefit can be achieved in a reasonable timeline and with few negative consequences, then it is deemed a good investment.
Total Benefit / Total Cost = ROI
Summarised ROI of ScopeMaster
Direct Effort Saved with ScopeMaster
- Finding defects in requirements
- Sizing
- Generating test scenarios
…which can lead to 10x ROI in less than 2 months.
Other Benefits
- Knowing size for better project management
- Reduced rework
- Shorter project schedules
A Case Study’s Dramatic Benefits
One case study has shown a dramatic improvement in the productivity of user story grooming activities:
