List of Figures | ROI of Software Process Improvement: Metrics for Project Managers and Software Engineers

19.6 Analysis of Breakeven Point

The breakeven point of using the Software Inspection Process to help produce 10,000 lines of code is $133,751. This is obtained by dividing the special costs of $82,073 by one less the total life cycle cost of 17,425 hours. The result is divided by 45,100 hours.

The breakeven point of using the Personal Software Process ^SM to help produce 10,000 lines of code is $106,545. This is obtained by dividing the special costs of $105,600 by one less the total life cycle cost of 400 hours. The result is divided by 45,100 hours.

The breakeven point of using the Team Software Process ^SM to help produce 10,000 lines of code is $154,160. This is obtained by dividing the special costs of $148,400 by one less the total life cycle cost of 1,685 hours. The result is divided by 45,100 hours.

The breakeven point of using the Software Capability Maturity Model is $464,616. This is obtained by dividing the special costs of $311,433 by one less the total life cycle cost of 14,869 hours. The result is divided by 45,100 hours.

The breakeven point of using ISO 9001 to help produce 10,000 lines of code is $1,369,206. This is obtained by dividing the special costs of $173,000 by one less the total life cycle cost of 39,402 hours. The result is divided by 45,100 hours.

The breakeven point of using Capability Maturity Model Integration to help produce 10,000 lines of code is $1,653,332. This is obtained by dividing the special costs of $1,108,233 by one less the total life cycle cost of 14,869 hours. The result is divided by 45,100 hours. Table 43 illustrates the analysis of breakeven point.

Table 43: Analysis of Breakeven Point
SPI Method	Breakeven Point	Normalized
Inspection	$133,751	0.98
Personal Software Process ^SM	$106,545	1.00
Team Software Process ^SM	$154,160	0.97
Software Capability Maturity Model	$464,616	0.78
ISO 9001	$1,369,206	0.24
Capability Maturity Model Integration	$1,653,332	0.06

The SPI method with the lowest breakeven point is the Personal Software Process ^SM at $106,545. The SPI method with the highest breakeven point is Capability Maturity Model Integration at $1,653,332. The Personal Software Process ^SM , Software Inspection Process, and Team Software Process ^SM have the lowest breakeven points. They are $106,545, $133,751, and $154,160, respectively.

On a normalized scale, the Personal Software Process ^SM has the lowest breakeven point. The Software Inspection Process and Team Software Process ^SM have low breakeven points too. Capability Maturity Model Integration has the highest breakeven point on a normalized scale.