Page #135 (20.6 Near Breakeven Point)

Overview

What is the future of software process improvement (SPI)? Which SPI methods boldly embrace the future? Is the future of SPI the Software Inspection Process, Personal Software Process ^SM , and Team Software Process ^SM ? Is the future of SPI the Software Capability Maturity Model , ISO 9001, or Capability Maturity Model Integration ? Does the return on investment (ROI) of SPI reveal the future of SPI? Do ROI values of 3,272, 4,133, 2,826, 871, 229, and 173% tell the future of SPI?

The future of SPI is embodied by SPI methods with low costs, high benefits, and good benefit/cost ratio. High ROI, high net present value, and near breakeven points are the characteristics of SPI methods that embrace the future of SPI. Indeed, some SPI methods score well on many of these criteria and some do not. The lesson is not to get caught up investing in an expensive SPI method. Rather, seek SPI methods that yield cost-effective benefits.

The most telltale indicator of the future of SPI is cost. The Software Inspection Process, Personal Software Process ^SM , Team Software Process ^SM , Software Capability Maturity Model , ISO 9001, and Capability Maturity Model Integration cost $20,518, $26,400, $37,100, $77,858, $43,250, and $277,058 per person. A small engineering firm with 100 software engineers has to pay $2,051,800 for the least expensive of these SPI methods. A medium- sized organization of 500 software engineers has to pay $13,200,000 for the SPI method with the highest benefits. A large, nonprofit organization of 1,500 software engineers has to pay $415,587,000 for the newest of these SPI methods.

It is safe to say that $2,051,800 is completely out of the question for a small software organization. For a medium-sized software organization, $13,200,000 is a nonstarter. For a large, nonprofit organization, $415,587,000 is simply out of the question. The marketplace is very resilient. Like a river flowing through a great valley, it follows the path of least resistance and flows gently around the obstacles, namely cost.