Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!gistdev!flint From: flint@gistdev.gist.com (Flint Pellett) Newsgroups: comp.software-eng Subject: Re: How do you measure code quality? Message-ID: <930@gistdev.gist.com> Date: 2 Jul 90 15:20:07 GMT References: <10865@netcom.UUCP> <1990Jul2.000639.14545@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG> Distribution: comp Organization: Global Information Systems Technology Inc., Savoy, IL Lines: 20 Expectations are probably the biggest variable in our industry: how happy a customer is with something depends a lot on what they expect out of it. Continuing the previous analogy: If I bought a $50,000 sports car today, and tomorrow a different company announced one that was better at everything, and cost half as much, my satisfaction would nosedive. With cars that isn't very likely, but with software it is VERY likely. ("Gee, I just bought your $2K UNIX based system, and today I see a $50 package on a Mac that does "X" so much better..." and expectations rise.) I've noticed that this is particularly prevalent when people make comparisons between complete systems and individual components, such as the recent spate of comparisons between the compiler provided as part of Coherent's UNIX system and stand-alone DOS compilers. (People seem to "expect" the same level of performance in the compiler they got as part of a whole system (for $100) as they expect out of a stand-alone compiler (that costs $150).) -- Flint Pellett, Global Information Systems Technology, Inc. 1800 Woodfield Drive, Savoy, IL 61874 (217) 352-1165 uunet!gistdev!flint or flint@gistdev.gist.com