On Mon, 23 Jan 1995 14:45:00 -0500, FAlden <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Subject:      Re: Evaluating program cost -- summary
> On January 5, 1995, I requested discussion of the question -- How do you
> evaluate program cost? The following is my promised summary of the
> responses. The task wasn't difficult as there were only seven replies;
> three from end-users and four from software developers/consultants. All
> agreed that there is no correlation between the number of lines of code
> and its cost to produce or purchase.
>
> I am disturbed by the words of Wayt Gibbs a staff writer for Scientific
> American who says: "The vast majority of developers -- by which I mean not
> only those who write computer code, but also those who design and manage
> entire systems -- still work as craftsman. They do not measure what they
> do. Consequently, they can't tell you, reliably, how much their system
> will cost, when it will be finished, or even whether it will work as
> intended."
 
Thank you for the follow-up.  As for Mr. Gibbs, it sounds as though he may
have been involved with a project where craftsmanship was required because
the client couldn't (or wouldn't) use standard packages.  After all, if the
client can't tell you, reliably, what the system should do, what else can
be done?
 
The prices of custom tailoring versus off-the-shelf clothing are difficult
to compare.  Ask the emperor.
 
regards  --  Tony B. Shepherd  --  [log in to unmask]