Comments on: Rusty Automobiles

By: Paul Brownell

Paul Brownell — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:06:03 +0000

I would add that even software with a slow decay curve suffers from accumulated mass over time. That mass creates a technology inertia as palpable as a rolling snowball. Once the snowball becomes a certain size, it becomes almost impossible to lift or reshape it without immense effort. One need look no further than Microsoft Windows to see the effect. Each new release seems to require a longer time and greater complexity.

By: Israel Gat

Israel Gat — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:50:40 +0000

We are in full agreement, Ayman. I believe the malleability of software often makes us forget about the decay. The problem is particularly bad when life-cycle costs of software are not sufficiently understood. The post Can You Afford the Software You are Developing (http://tr.im/nchq) speaks to the economics of the issue.

Israel

By: Ayman Nassar

Ayman Nassar — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:19:22 +0000

It is very true that software just like everything else does become obsolete. Obsolescence is relative from one organization to another, at one place a policy can make a software system obsolete while at another it might still be producing.

Thanks for sharing those links.