You would need to ask the programmer. Probably he just made a guesstimate or a calculation based on the relationship between search depth and Elo. Doubt he went so far as to play engine v engine tournaments versus other engines with known Elo which would be the most definitive measure.
The plan should still be to adjust the strength until you are losing 75% of the time if you agree with the recommendations I have seen.
You would need to ask the programmer. Probably he just made a guesstimate or a calculation based on the relationship between search depth and Elo. Doubt he went so far as to play engine v engine tournaments versus other engines with known Elo which would be the most definitive measure.
The plan should still be to adjust the strength until you are losing 75% of the time if you agree with the recommendations I have seen.