Project LEAP at the University of Hawaii is investigating tools and methods to support low-cost, empirically based software developer improvement. A recent case study provides evidence that guesstimates, when informed by low-cost analytical methods, might be the most accurate method.
Citation:
Philip M. Johnson, Carleton A. Moore, Joseph A. Dane, Robert S. Brewer, "Empirically Guided Software Effort Guesstimation," IEEE Software, vol. 17, no. 6, pp. 51-56, Nov./Dec. 2000, doi:10.1109/52.895168