Empirical Validation of Neural Network Models for Agile Software Effort Estimation based on Story Points

Now-a-days agile software development process has become famous in industries and substituting the traditional methods of software development. However, an accurate estimation of effort in this paradigm still remains a dispute in industries. Hence, the industry must be able to estimate the effort necessary for software development using agile methodology efficiently. For this, different techniques like expert opinion, analogy, disaggregation etc. are adopted by researchers and practitioners. But no proper mathematical model exists for this. The existing techniques are ad-hoc and are thus prone to be incorrect. One popular approach of calculating effort of agile projects mathematically is the Story Point Approach (SPA). In this study, an effort has been made to enhance the prediction accuracy of agile software effort estimation process using SPA. For doing this, different types of neural networks (General Regression Neural Network (GRNN), Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN), Group Method of Data Handling (GMDH) Polynomial Neural Network and Cascade-Correlation Neural Network) are used. Finally performance of the models generated using various neural networks are compared and analyzed.