“The first 90% of the code accounts for the first 90% of the development time. The remaining 10% of the code accounts for the other 90% of the development time.”
(Tom Cargill)
It never ceases to amaze me how true the above statement is. I’ve experienced it on my own through school and work but I’ve also been fortunate enough to watch many others struggle through the same issue. While that doesn’t sound like a very nice thing to say, what I’m getting at is that it’s nice to see that you’re not the only one who struggles with a particular thing.
The rule of thumb that says you should allocate at least double the time you think you’ll need for a software development project definitely holds true for smaller shops. I’m not sure what it’s like in larger organizations. Anyone who’s business model relies solely on their development cycle likely has things tightened up a lot more. But if you’re looking at smaller development team, be sure to keep this quote in mind.
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7 responses so far ↓
1 John Hunter // Jan 12, 2008 at 5:18 pm
There is truth in that quote. However there are ways to change the process of development so that the sentiment becomes a factor much less often. I find Agile methods are a very effective way of changing the process in a way that while not eliminating that possibility does effectively eliminate it in many instances.
2 vixmusic01 // Jan 13, 2008 at 8:37 pm
It is really nice for this person to have 180% of time to work on the project, 90% + 90% = 180%. that is 80% more than allowed for? My projects only have 100% of time! I think what the programmer meant to say was that the last 10% of code programming takes as much time as completing the first 90% . The individual also implies that project timeline planning should reflect this fact.
English language can be as tricky as code, so people like me are available to edit your text. I will even exchange for help with code!
see you on-line ….
3 Bleepd // Jan 15, 2008 at 4:58 pm
It would be true in most cases, yes.
But then you take a look at google, and see that theirs is almost the exact opposite.
Google is something that eveyone can pertain to, with not much to start, then it becomes big, and just keep expanding from there.
They are even about to make their very own browser!
But as for me, I never understood scripts and all of that such…
4 im // Jan 16, 2008 at 12:52 am
I think the development of anything (not just code) works under the same timescale
5 Josh Feingold // Jan 16, 2008 at 10:41 am
Very true. I developed StaffASAP and now see that if I had created a basic framework, most of the development time for future projects could have been really cut down. I am working on a new framework for PHP/MySQL and I would guess that it would be an interesting Open Source Project.
- Josh
6 Daniel // Jan 22, 2008 at 12:37 am
ultimately its the timeline assigned to the project that matters. the time management is best left to the programmers as they know much more about the software life cycle.
7 Total URL // Feb 1, 2008 at 4:00 am
“The first 90% of the code accounts for the first 90% of the development time. The remaining 10% of the code accounts for the other 90% of the development time, which is the modifications as needed by the client. thus making it difficult to hit the deadline”
(My Version)