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From: davis@mwunix.mitre.org (David Davis)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Large Projects
Summary: Comparisons with civil engr.
Keywords: hardware
Message-ID: <114522@linus.mitre.org>
Date: 24 Jul 90 17:43:00 GMT
Sender: usenet@linus.mitre.org
Reply-To: davis@mwunix.mitre.org (David Davis)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Free Neil Bush Fund
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We frequently hear the assertion that some other field of engineering 
performs better than the software profession in meeting cost/schedule 
goals...well, not always.

A recent Washington Post article (about 21 July) described how the 
British Channel Tunnel, or "Chunnel", project is half done and 60% 
over budget, through a combination of inflation, poilitics, and the 
unexpected.  I would like to suggest that this supports a pet theory of 
mine that almost all big projects get into some trouble, simply 
because of their bigness.  Small comfort?  At least one can carve 
up a software project in to safer, smaller ones.



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Dave Davis                  davis@mwunix.mitre.org
MITRE Corporation           me := disclaimer.all
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