Strategic Software Development: Productivity Comparisons of General Development Programs
Productivity has been one of the major concerns with the increasingly high cost of software development. Choosing the right development language with high productivity is one approach to reduce development costs. Working on the large database with 4106 projects ever developed, we found the factors significant to productivity. After the removal of the effects of other factors on productivity, we compare the productivity differences of the ten general development programs. The study supports the fact that fourth-generation languages are more productive than thirdgeneration languages.
[1] R. S. Pressman, Software Engineering: A Practitioner's Approach.
London: McGraw-Hill, 2005.
[2] H. V. Vliet, Software Engineering: Principles and Practice. Chichester:
Wiley, 1993.
[3] S. T. Albin, The Art of Software Architecture: Design Methods and
Techniques. New York: Wiley, 2003.
[4] J. D. Blackburn, G. D. Scudder, and L. N. V. Wassenhove, "Improving
speed and productivity of software development: a global survey of
software developers," IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, vol.
22, pp. 875-885, 1996.
[5] B. W. Boehm and P. N. Papaccio, "Understanding and Controlling
Software Costs," IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, vol. 14,
pp. 1462-1477, 1988.
[6] D. N. Card, F. E. McGarry, and G. T. Page, "Evaluating software
engineering technologies," IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering,
vol. SE-13, pp. 845-851, 1987.
[7] G. R. Finnie, G. E. Wittig, and D. Petkov, "Prioritizing software
development productivity factors using the analytic hierarchy process,"
Journal of Systems and Software, vol. 22, pp. 129-139, 1993.
[8] N. R. Howes, "Managing software development projects for maximum
productivity," IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, vol. SE10,
pp. 27-35, 1984.
[9] R. E. Loesh, "Improving productivity through standard design
templates," Data Processing, vol. 27, pp. 57-59, 1985.
[10] K. Maxwell, L. V. Wassenhove, and S. Dutta, "Software development
productivity of European space, military and industrial applications,"
IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, vol. 22, pp. 706-718, 1996.
[11] Q. Liu and R. C. Mintram, "Preliminary data analysis methods in
software estimation," Software Quality Journal, vol. 13, pp. 91-115,
2005.
[12] W. Harrison, "A flexible method for maintaining software metrics data:
a universal metrics repository," Journal of Systems and Software, vol. 72,
pp. 225-234, 2004.
[13] C. J. Lokan, "An empirical analysis of function point adjustment
factors," Information and Software Technology, vol. 42, pp. 649-660,
2000.
[14] R. Jeffery, M. Ruhe, and I. Wieczorek, "A comparative study of two
software development cost modeling techniques using multiorganizational
and company-specific data," Information and Software
Technology, vol. 42, pp. 1009-1016, 2000.
[15] J. J. Cuadrado-Gallego, M. Sicilia, M. Garre, and D. Rodríguez, "An
empirical study of process-related attributes in segmented software costestimation
relationships," Journal of Systems and Software, vol. 79, pp.
353-361, 2006.
[16] J. Moses, M. Farrow, N. Parrington, and P. Smith, "A productivity
benchmarking case study using Bayesian credible intervals," Software
Quality Journal, vol. 14, pp. 37-52, 2006.
[17] L. B. Wilson and R. G. Clark, Comparative Programming Languages.
Wokingham: Addison-Wesley, 1988.
[18] K. C. Louden, Programming Languages: Principles and Practice
London: Brooks/Cole, 2003.
[19] R. Cezzar, A Guide to Programming Languages: Overview and
Comparison. Boston: Artech House, 1995.
[20] J. R. Groff and P. N. Weinberg, SQL: The Complete Reference New
York McGraw-Hill, 2002.
[21] D. D. Deyhimi, D. S. Heath, and D. Mosley, Advanced PowerBuilder
4.0 Techniques. New York: Wiley, 1995.
[22] J. T. Perry, Understanding Oracle. San Francisco: Sybex, 1989.
[23] E. Jones, Developing Client/Server Applications with Microsoft Access.
London: McGraw-Hill, 1997.
[24] R. R. Newton and K. E. Rudestam, Your Statistical Consultant: Answers
to Your Data Analysis Questions. London: SAGE, 1999.
[25] F. Louis, "Team size and productivity in systems development,"
Information Systems Management, vol. 8, pp. 27-35, 1991.
[26] S. D. Conte, H. E. Dunsmore, and Y. E. Shen, Software Engineering
Metrics and Models. Redwood City, CA: Benjamin-Cummings
Publishing, 1986.
[27] E. Mendes and B. Kitchenham, "Web Productivity Measurement and
Benchmarking," in Web Engineering, E. Mendes and N. Mosley, Eds.
Berlin: Springer, 2006, pp. 75-106.
[28] B. P. Lientz, E. B. Swanson, and G. E. Tompkins, "Characteristics of
application software maintenance," Communications of the ACM, vol.
21, pp. 466-471, 1978.
[29] G. H. Subramanian, P. C. Pendharkar, and M. Wallace, "An empirical
study of the effect of complexity, platform, and program type on
software development effort of business applications," Empirical
Software Engineering, vol. 11, pp. 541-553, 2006.
[30] J. Martin, Rapid Application Development. New York: Macmillan, 1991.
[31] R. D. Banker and R. J. Kauffman, "Reuse and productivity in integrated
computer-aided software engineering: an empirical study," MIS
Quarterly, vol. 15, pp. 375-401, 1991.
[32] C. Necco, N. W. Tsai, and K. W. Holgeson, "Current usage of CASE
software," Journal of Systems Management, vol. 40, pp. 6-11, 1989.
[33] R. T. Coupe and N. M. Onodu, "An empirical evaluation of the impact
of CASE on developer productivity and software quality," Journal of
Information Technology, vol. 11, pp. 173-181, 1996.
[34] D. Flynn, J. Vagner, and O. D. Vecchio, "Is CASE technology
improving quality and productivity in software development?" Logistics
Information Management, vol. 8, pp. 8-23, 1995.
[35] T. Bruckhaus, N. H. Madhavii, I. Janssen, and J. Henshaw, "The impact
of tools on software productivity," IEEE Software, vol. 13, pp. 29-38,
1996.
[36] S. A. Green, "How many subjects does it take to do a multiple regression
analysis?" Multivariate Behavioral Research, vol. 26, pp. 499-510, 1991.
[37] A. C. Rencher, Linear Models in Statistics. New York: John Wiley &
Sons, 2000.
[38] W. J. Krzanowski, An Introduction to Statistical Modelling. London:
Arnold, 1998.
[39] R. Klepper and D. Bock, "Third and fourth generation language
productivity differences," Communications of the ACM, vol. 38, pp. 69-
79, 1995.
[1] R. S. Pressman, Software Engineering: A Practitioner's Approach.
London: McGraw-Hill, 2005.
[2] H. V. Vliet, Software Engineering: Principles and Practice. Chichester:
Wiley, 1993.
[3] S. T. Albin, The Art of Software Architecture: Design Methods and
Techniques. New York: Wiley, 2003.
[4] J. D. Blackburn, G. D. Scudder, and L. N. V. Wassenhove, "Improving
speed and productivity of software development: a global survey of
software developers," IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, vol.
22, pp. 875-885, 1996.
[5] B. W. Boehm and P. N. Papaccio, "Understanding and Controlling
Software Costs," IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, vol. 14,
pp. 1462-1477, 1988.
[6] D. N. Card, F. E. McGarry, and G. T. Page, "Evaluating software
engineering technologies," IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering,
vol. SE-13, pp. 845-851, 1987.
[7] G. R. Finnie, G. E. Wittig, and D. Petkov, "Prioritizing software
development productivity factors using the analytic hierarchy process,"
Journal of Systems and Software, vol. 22, pp. 129-139, 1993.
[8] N. R. Howes, "Managing software development projects for maximum
productivity," IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, vol. SE10,
pp. 27-35, 1984.
[9] R. E. Loesh, "Improving productivity through standard design
templates," Data Processing, vol. 27, pp. 57-59, 1985.
[10] K. Maxwell, L. V. Wassenhove, and S. Dutta, "Software development
productivity of European space, military and industrial applications,"
IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, vol. 22, pp. 706-718, 1996.
[11] Q. Liu and R. C. Mintram, "Preliminary data analysis methods in
software estimation," Software Quality Journal, vol. 13, pp. 91-115,
2005.
[12] W. Harrison, "A flexible method for maintaining software metrics data:
a universal metrics repository," Journal of Systems and Software, vol. 72,
pp. 225-234, 2004.
[13] C. J. Lokan, "An empirical analysis of function point adjustment
factors," Information and Software Technology, vol. 42, pp. 649-660,
2000.
[14] R. Jeffery, M. Ruhe, and I. Wieczorek, "A comparative study of two
software development cost modeling techniques using multiorganizational
and company-specific data," Information and Software
Technology, vol. 42, pp. 1009-1016, 2000.
[15] J. J. Cuadrado-Gallego, M. Sicilia, M. Garre, and D. Rodríguez, "An
empirical study of process-related attributes in segmented software costestimation
relationships," Journal of Systems and Software, vol. 79, pp.
353-361, 2006.
[16] J. Moses, M. Farrow, N. Parrington, and P. Smith, "A productivity
benchmarking case study using Bayesian credible intervals," Software
Quality Journal, vol. 14, pp. 37-52, 2006.
[17] L. B. Wilson and R. G. Clark, Comparative Programming Languages.
Wokingham: Addison-Wesley, 1988.
[18] K. C. Louden, Programming Languages: Principles and Practice
London: Brooks/Cole, 2003.
[19] R. Cezzar, A Guide to Programming Languages: Overview and
Comparison. Boston: Artech House, 1995.
[20] J. R. Groff and P. N. Weinberg, SQL: The Complete Reference New
York McGraw-Hill, 2002.
[21] D. D. Deyhimi, D. S. Heath, and D. Mosley, Advanced PowerBuilder
4.0 Techniques. New York: Wiley, 1995.
[22] J. T. Perry, Understanding Oracle. San Francisco: Sybex, 1989.
[23] E. Jones, Developing Client/Server Applications with Microsoft Access.
London: McGraw-Hill, 1997.
[24] R. R. Newton and K. E. Rudestam, Your Statistical Consultant: Answers
to Your Data Analysis Questions. London: SAGE, 1999.
[25] F. Louis, "Team size and productivity in systems development,"
Information Systems Management, vol. 8, pp. 27-35, 1991.
[26] S. D. Conte, H. E. Dunsmore, and Y. E. Shen, Software Engineering
Metrics and Models. Redwood City, CA: Benjamin-Cummings
Publishing, 1986.
[27] E. Mendes and B. Kitchenham, "Web Productivity Measurement and
Benchmarking," in Web Engineering, E. Mendes and N. Mosley, Eds.
Berlin: Springer, 2006, pp. 75-106.
[28] B. P. Lientz, E. B. Swanson, and G. E. Tompkins, "Characteristics of
application software maintenance," Communications of the ACM, vol.
21, pp. 466-471, 1978.
[29] G. H. Subramanian, P. C. Pendharkar, and M. Wallace, "An empirical
study of the effect of complexity, platform, and program type on
software development effort of business applications," Empirical
Software Engineering, vol. 11, pp. 541-553, 2006.
[30] J. Martin, Rapid Application Development. New York: Macmillan, 1991.
[31] R. D. Banker and R. J. Kauffman, "Reuse and productivity in integrated
computer-aided software engineering: an empirical study," MIS
Quarterly, vol. 15, pp. 375-401, 1991.
[32] C. Necco, N. W. Tsai, and K. W. Holgeson, "Current usage of CASE
software," Journal of Systems Management, vol. 40, pp. 6-11, 1989.
[33] R. T. Coupe and N. M. Onodu, "An empirical evaluation of the impact
of CASE on developer productivity and software quality," Journal of
Information Technology, vol. 11, pp. 173-181, 1996.
[34] D. Flynn, J. Vagner, and O. D. Vecchio, "Is CASE technology
improving quality and productivity in software development?" Logistics
Information Management, vol. 8, pp. 8-23, 1995.
[35] T. Bruckhaus, N. H. Madhavii, I. Janssen, and J. Henshaw, "The impact
of tools on software productivity," IEEE Software, vol. 13, pp. 29-38,
1996.
[36] S. A. Green, "How many subjects does it take to do a multiple regression
analysis?" Multivariate Behavioral Research, vol. 26, pp. 499-510, 1991.
[37] A. C. Rencher, Linear Models in Statistics. New York: John Wiley &
Sons, 2000.
[38] W. J. Krzanowski, An Introduction to Statistical Modelling. London:
Arnold, 1998.
[39] R. Klepper and D. Bock, "Third and fourth generation language
productivity differences," Communications of the ACM, vol. 38, pp. 69-
79, 1995.
@article{"International Journal of Information, Control and Computer Sciences:55499", author = "Craig Comstock and Zhizhong Jiang and Peter Naudé", title = "Strategic Software Development: Productivity Comparisons of General Development Programs", abstract = "Productivity has been one of the major concerns with the increasingly high cost of software development. Choosing the right development language with high productivity is one approach to reduce development costs. Working on the large database with 4106 projects ever developed, we found the factors significant to productivity. After the removal of the effects of other factors on productivity, we compare the productivity differences of the ten general development programs. The study supports the fact that fourth-generation languages are more productive than thirdgeneration languages.
", keywords = "Functional point, language, productivity, software engineering.", volume = "1", number = "10", pages = "3099-6", }
