Early effort estimation of massive maintenance processes

Effort estimation is a valuable asset to managers in planning maintenance activities and performing cost/benefit analysis. Early estimates and accurate evaluations permit to significantly reduce project risks and to improve resource scheduling. In this paper we present an approach for an early effort estimation based on the knowledge of a fraction of the programs composing the work-packet. As a case study, the proposed approach has been applied to a large massive maintenance project performed by a major international software enterprise.