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Predicting Staffing Sizes
for Maintaining Computer-Networking Infrastructures
September 2000
Lon D. Gowen, The MITRE Corporation
ABSTRACT
MITRE recently completed a three-month study to assess the
"state of the practice" in staffing levels for maintaining
a computer-networking infrastructure (CNI). The project determined
the state of the practice by looking at technical papers on the
subject, conducting organizational and technical-expert surveys,
and looking at software models that attempt to predict staffing
levels. The research found very few quantitative heuristics
available in the literature; however, the data we did find showed
that typical CNIs have a 1:42 FTE-to-user ratio; that is, one
full-time equivalent of CNI staffing per 42 users using a typical
CNI. This number can vary, up or down, by 17% or more
depending on the details of the CNI. The DoD, as well as the
private sector, can use the results of this study to:
- predict initial CNI support levels,
- support their current level of staffing, or
- justify an increase or decrease in staffing.
Additionally, this paper breaks down CNI support into the four
major areas—systems administration (SA), break fix (BF), help
desk (HD), and configuration management (CM)—and provides
ratios for predicting each of them within a typical CNI.
Additional Search Keywords
Manpower, Computer, Networking, Infrastructure, Staffing, Estimation,
Prediction, Systems Administration, Break Fix, Help Desk, Configuration
Management, Systems Engineering, and Labor Research
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