| Services are an increasing part of the global economy as all national economies are shifting to services. Service businesses employ a large and growing share of the science and engineering workforce. Service employees are also the primary users of information technology.; Academic research enterprise historically has not focused on or been organized to meet the needs of service businesses. There is an emerging academic discipline known as Services Science, Management, and Engineering (SSME), which addresses these needs. SSME is a multidisciplinary research approach that focuses on fundamental science, models, theories and applications to drive innovation, competition, and quality of life through services. The adaptation and application of existing systems concepts and methodologies to service functions and businesses is a major research challenge that can be addressed. Services science research could yield models, methodologies, processes, and software tools that create and deliver services more efficiently.; This study produces a conceptual estimating framework which combines the knowledge of technology with that of business process and organization in an effort to improve productivity. The research is focused solely on deployment, an area that in the past has primarily been combined with software application development. Deployment, as an entity independent from software development, is a key factor in the growing field of services.; This study developed a conceptual estimating framework that lessened the continual need for Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to be involved in the conceptual cost estimating process. An investment of the SMEs' time is required in the initial building of the framework but not with each subsequent use. This study asserted that this scenario allows an organization to gain the benefit of conceptual estimating for deployment without diverting the SME resources from other development projects.; From the aspect of academics, the synthesis of the results of the literature search enhances the body of knowledge around project management. In practical terms, the method employed can be utilized by organizations to build functioning conceptual estimating tools, which may lead to expense savings during the estimating process and, as this study surmises, may lead to more effective project implementation. |
