The basis of the scientific method is recording data. To record data we need to establish metrics. Without standard units and measurement there is no physics. Without metrics there is no software process. Without records we have only myths.
The other day I was speaking with a developer with about 8 year experience. I asked, on a software tool project, using the C programming language, with an expected size of 10K lines of code (LOC), what would be the average LOC per day. (He did not ask as to how I defined LOC. I broadly put it as the number of executable LOC - STXLN in the tool QA-C from Programming Research). The amazing answer: ~400 LOC/day!!!
In the Tools BU of Acme Technologies we constructed and renovated programming tools. My experience was a rate of 8~10 LOC/day. We had recorded data. We did not depend on myths.
Have a look at the data for the project gpsd — a GPS service daemon. A code-only size of 51,064 required 12 person-years. Assuming 22 working days/month, this works out to a rate of 16 LOC/day!
PS: An earlier post on keeping records
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