Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!ccicpg!cci632!ritcv!mjl
From: mjl@ritcv.UUCP (Mike Lutz)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Cynic's Guide to SE, part 2
Message-ID: <279@ritcv.UUCP>
Date: 18 Mar 88 23:58:16 GMT
References: <2586@Shasta.STANFORD.EDU>
Reply-To: mjl@ritcv.UUCP (Michael Lutz)
Distribution: na
Organization: Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY
Lines: 31
Keywords: metrics, software engineering

In article <2586@Shasta.STANFORD.EDU> neff@Shasta.UUCP (Randy Neff) writes:
>This is unlike other engineering fields; say electrical engineering.  There
>a audio power amplifier can be judged by its cost, power output, distortion,
>frequency response, crossover, phase delay, power in, heat disipated, and
>weight.   These are all numeric quantities that most EEs can measure; 
>there are no subjective biases or opinions expressed.  Together, the 
>values form an absolute "goodness" based on electrical engineering practice.

Anyone who has seriously worked with hardware engineers will immediately
recognize how flawed this example is.  Religious disputes rage as fiercely
in the hardware community as in the software world: look at the RISC/CISC
debate, for instance, or the VME vs. Multibus wars of a couple years back.

And, while we're at it, let's look at the performance of the oldest
engineering profession (civil) when applied in new, uncharted territory,
(the construction of nuclear power plants), where pressure from the
user community (DOE, Public Utility Commisions, etc.), caused massive
changes in the spec. during implementation and testing.  Not a pretty picture,
but one that's a lot closer to what practicing software designers face
daily than is the design of (yet another) M68k board.

I do believe we could measure what we do much more precisely, and that such
measurement would give us insights that improve our work, but no metric
will be the oracle telling us the "right" way to solve our problems.

Mike Lutz
rochester!ritcv!mjl
-- 
Mike Lutz	Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester NY
UUCP:		{allegra,seismo}!rochester!ritcv!mjl
CSNET:		mjl%rit@csnet-relay.ARPA