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From: jon@cs.washington.edu (Jon Jacky)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng,comp.realtime
Subject: Cost of developing embedded software reported
Keywords: cost, estimating, software engineering, embedded software, development
Message-ID: <12577@june.cs.washington.edu>
Date: 18 Jul 90 21:06:59 GMT
Organization: U of Washington, Computer Science, Seattle
Lines: 22

Here are excerpts from R&D magazine (a controlled-circulation trade magazine),
July 1990, p. 68, in an article "Five Steps to Successful Software Development"
by Roger Woodward of Woodward Design Associates, San Francisco:

"...For instrument software, specifically real-time microprocessor software,
my firm has developed a historical price-estimation scheme that has proven 
useful and accurate.

Based on a large sample of our own projects and another sampling of 
projects completed at instrument firms that cooperated in our survey, you can
figure on $2.75 per byte at 1990 prices.

Thus a project that must fit in 64K should cost, start to finish, about 
$180,000.

Our evidence suggests that, for a project of this size, cost estimates
below $100,000 and above $300,000 are both suspect."

This seems roughly consistent with estimates of $10.00 per source line that
I can vaguely remember hearing somewhere.

Jon Jacky, University of Washington, Seattle   jon@gaffer.rad.washington.edu