BOEHM CSSE

Ricardo Valerdi is a Professor and Head of the Department of Systems and Industrial Engineering at the University of Arizona. He is a graduate of USC and the creator of the COSYSMO cost model. He recently published "The Five-Tool Team" which was heavily influenced by Barry Boehm.

Dr Antony Powell, UK MOD and YorkMetrics

Antony has had a 30-year career in software and systems engineering and management, leading improvements in measurement and estimation across many of the UK’s largest and most challenging software and systems engineering projects.

Rob Ashmore, FCAS Chief Technologist - Software and Dstl Chief, Critical Software

Rob is DSTL Chief for Critical Software in the Cyber Security and Safety group at the UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), which is part of the UK Ministry of Defence. He has over 25 years' experience, covering all aspects of the software lifecycle in a defence and security context, including delivery of operational software and certification of safety-critical software.

Andy Adams, FCAS Deputy Chief Engineer for Programmable Elements, UK MOD

Andy has over 30 years’ experience in Defence Acquisition of complex programmes. Over the last decade he has concentrated on software certification and Airworthiness Security Risk Assessment, developing policies, tools and training to provide a more reliable approach to Software Acquisition Management across the UK Ministry of Defence.

Gavin Douglas, FCAS Programmable Elements Engineer, UK MOD

Meredith Weiner is a Cost Research Analyst at Unison Cost Engineering. She is a recent graduate of William & Mary, where she studied mathematics and data science. Her work focuses on developing and improving cost models for TruePlanning®, with particular emphasis on estimating the effects of generative AI on software development effort.

Ms. Carol Dekkers is founder of Quality Plus Technologies, Inc. who works with organizations who want to succeed with software intensive initiatives through measurement, data-founded estimation, and project management. She has co-authored textbooks (The IT Measurement Compendium: Estimating and Benchmarking Success with Functional Size Measurement; Program Management Toolkit for Software and Systems Development; Practical Software Project Estimation; and others) and presents and publishes articles internationally.
Carol was the lead author for the Software Cost Estimating Body of Knowledge (CEBoK-S.) She also recently was named a Global Leader in Consulting (Computer Magazine) and an honorary fellow by the International Function Point Users Group (IFPUG). She is a globally recognized expert in the area of software measurement, and software cost estimating and has experience with state and federal governments in the US, and international industry organizations in Malaysia, Brazil, Japan and India. Ms Dekkers is a longtime delegate and US expert to ISO software engineering standards, and holds credentials: CSPP, PMP, CSM, P.Eng, SCEC.

Ms. Virginia W. Perkins is the Chief Digital Officer for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). In this executive role, she directs the strategy, execution, and governance of the Agency’s digital transformation portfolio. Ms. Perkins’ distinguished career spans more than three decades. She began her professional journey as a Junior Software Engineer developing National Aeronautics and Space Administration payloads for the International Space Station. In 2010 she joined the civil service, holding various software development and leadership positions and in 2024, she was appointed to the Senior Executive Service as MDA’s Chief Engineer. In that capacity she was responsible for establishing robust engineering processes, implementing rigorous quality controls, and providing independent technical assessments of high-risk operational events and engineering development programs. A native of Pell City, Alabama, Ms. Perkins holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Jacksonville State University and a Master of Science in Engineering Systems from the Naval Postgraduate School.

Dr. William “Bill” Nichols is a Principal Engineer and Researcher at the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), leading the Applied Measurement and Experimentation Initiative. His research focuses on software cost estimation, measurement, and evidence-based decision-making, leveraging decades of experience across software engineering, process improvement, and scientific development. Nichols joined the SEI in 2006 as a senior member of the technical staff, serving as a Personal Software Process (PSP) instructor and Team Software Process (TSP) coach. Prior to his work at the SEI, he spent 14 years at the Bettis Laboratory leading a team in developing and maintaining high-consequence nuclear engineering software. He holds a Ph.D. in physics from Carnegie Mellon University.

Anandi Hira leads research to advance the state of the art in software cost estimation and supports programs with the resulting estimation and measurement processes in her current role at Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU’s) Software Engineering Institute (SEI). Her most recent research objective is to develop a new, innovative, capability-based software cost estimation model. Anandi received her PhD in software cost estimation under Dr. Barry Boehm at the University of Southern California (USC), where she collected software development data and calibrated the COCOMO® II software cost estimation model for functional size metrics.

Paul Cymerman works for Quaternion Consulting Inc. (QCI) supporting the Office of Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) as a SME. He has over 32 years of experience as a software cost analyst, aerospace engineer, and computer programmer. Currently supporting the ODNI in developing independent cost estimates and researching new estimating methods. Developed “Diff” and architected Function Point capability in UCC. Currently leading a Modeling and Simulation development program to support the Navy.

Thirty-five years of combined Defense, Intelligence community and industry experience, including over twenty years in the federal government senior executive service and six years as an industry Vice President

At Boeing, now leads Corporate Independent Cost Estimating and previously led an over 800 person geographically dispersed team responsible for producing cost estimates, proposals, and pricing for government and commercial products and services

Decades of government experience producing and leading cost estimates functions at the Navy, Air Force, and National Reconnaissance Office and serving in a senior intelligence service or senior executive service leadership role [additional info in sub-bullets below, don’t need to use]
• Director, National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Cost Group
• Deputy Assistant Secretary (Cost and Economics) and Executive Director, Air Force Cost Analysis Agency
• Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, Strategic Plans, Programs and Requirements,
• Principal Deputy and Acting Assistant Secretary (Installations, Environment & Energy)
• and finally, Principal Deputy and Acting Assistant Secretary (Financial Management & Comptroller

Most importantly, a life-long passion for advancing the profession of cost analysis

Arlene F. Minkiewicz is the Director of Cost Research at Unison Cost Engineering with over 40 years of experience building cost models. She leads the cost research activity for TruePlanning®, the suite of cost estimating products that Unison provides and is a software measurement expert dedicated to finding creative solutions focused on helping make software development professionals successful.

Brad Clark is a Senior Cost Analyst at Galorath Federal Inc., specializing in data analytics and cost engineering. With a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Southern California, earned in 1997, Dr. Clark has dedicated his career to advancing the field of software cost estimation. He is a co-author of two books: "Software Cost Estimation with COCOMO II," written with Barry Boehm and others, and "Software Cost Estimation Metrics Manual for Defense Systems," co-authored with Dr. Ray Madachy (Mad-a-key). Dr. Clark's leadership extends to having served twice as the President of the Boehm Center for Systems and Software Engineering, where he continues to contribute to fostering collaboration and innovation within the industry.

Doug started selling COCOMO tools for Macintosh in 1987 on a 3.5 inch floppy disc. The Parallel Agile book he wrote with Barry describes a management process for large scale parallel development that includes code generation - not very different from today's agentic AI.