Size Matters

Some say that software development is challenging because of complexity. This might be true, but this definition does not help us find solutions to reduce complexity. We need a better way to explain complexity to non-technical people.

The reality is that when coding a project size matters.  Size is measured in the number of pathways through a code base, not by the number of lines of code. Size is proportional to the number of function points in a project.

There are many IT people that succeed with programs of a certain size and then fail miserably when taking on programs that are more sophisticated.  Complexity increases with size because the number of pathways increase exponentially in large programs.

Virtually anyone (even CEOs 🙂 ) can build a hello, world! application; an application that only has a single pathway through it and is as simple as you can get.  Some CEOs write the simple hello, world! program and incorrectly convince themselves that development is easy. Hello, world! only has a single pathway through it and virtually anyone can write it.

main() {
printf( “hello, world” );
}

If you have an executive that can’t even complete hello,world then you should take away his computer 🙂

CallTreeComplexity Defined

As programs get more sophisticated, the number of decisions that have to be made increase and the depth of the call tree increases.  Every non-trivial routine will have multiple pathways through it.

If your average call depth is 10 with an average of 4 pathways through each routine then this represents over 1 million pathways.  If the average call depth is 15 then it represents 107 million pathways.

Increasing sophisticated programs have greater call depth than ever and distributed applications increase the call depth even because the call depth of a system is additive. This is what we mean by complexity; it is impossible for us to test all of the different pathways in a black box fashion.

Now in reality every combination of pathways is not possible, but you only have to leave holes in a few routines and you will have hundreds, if not thousands, of pathways where calculations and decisions can go wrong.

In addition, incorrect calculations or decisions higher up in the call tree can lead to difficult to find defects that may blow up much further away from the source of the problem.

What are Defects?

Software defects occur for very simple reasons, an incorrect calculation is performed that causes an output value to be incorrect.  Sometimes there is no calculation at all because input data is not validated to be consistent and that data is either stored incorrectly or goes on to cause incorrect calculations to be performed.

Call Tree and Defects, discoveredWe only recognize that we have a defect when we see an output value and recognize that it is incorrect. More likely QA sees it and tells us that we are incorrect.

Basically we follow a pathway that is correct through nodes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.  At point 6 we make a miscalculation calculation, and then we have the incorrect values at points 7 and 8 and discover the problem at node 9.

So once we have a miscalculation, we will either continue to make incorrect calculations or make incorrect decisions and go down the wrong pathways (where we will then make incorrect calculations).

Not all Defects are Equal

It is clear that the more distance there is between a miscalculation and its discover will make defects harder to detect.  The longer the call depth the greater the chance that there can be a large distance between the origin and detection, in other words:

Size Matters

Today we build sophisticated systems of many cooperating applications and the call depth is exponential with the size of the system.  This is what we mean by complexity in software.

Reducing Complexity

Complexity is reduced for every function where:

  • You can identify when inconsistent parameters are passed to a function
  • All calculations inside of a function are done correctly
  • All decisions through the code are taken correctly

The best way to solve all 3 issues is through formal  planning and development.Two methodologies that focus directly on planning at the personal and team level are the Personal Software Process (PSP) and the Team Software Process (TSP) invented by Watts Humphrey.

Identifying inconsistent parameters is easiest when you use Design By Contract (DbC) , a technique that was pioneered by the Eiffel programming language. It is important to use DbC on all functions that are in the core pathways of an application.

Using Test Driven Development is a sure way to make sure that all calculations inside of a function are done correctly, but only if you write tests for every pathway through a function.

Making sure that all calculations are done correctly inside a function and that correct decisions are make through the code is best done through through code inspections (see Inspections are not Optional and Software Professionals do Inspections).

All techniques that can be used to reduce complexity and prove the correctness of your program are covered in Debuggers are for Losers.  N.B. Debuggers as the only formalism will only work well for systems with low call depth and low branching.

Conclusion

Therefore, complexity in software development is about making sure that all the code pathways are accounted for.  In increasingly sophisticated software systems the number of code pathways increases exponentially with the call depth. Using formal methods is the only way to account for all the pathways in a sophisticated program; otherwise the number of defects will multiply exponentially and cause your project to fail.

Only projects with low complexity (i.e. small call depth) can afford to be informal and only use debuggers to get control of the system pathways. As a system gets larger only the use of formal mechanisms can reduce complexity and develop sophisticated systems. Those formal mechanisms include:

  • Personal Software Process and Team Software Process
  • Design by Contract (via Aspect Oriented Programming)
  • Test Driven Development
  • Code and Design Inspections
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Are we there yet?

Are We There YetWe associate “are we there yet?” with kids asking incessantly if a long trip is almost over.  It is generally funny, however, it is less funny on a project that should be complete.

Projects follow distinct phases:

  1. Basic requirements are collected
  2. Project plan and end date are established
  3. Development starts
  4. Projects track to the project plan

Often, tasks start off well until they all level off at 90-95% complete and get stuck.  Management was satisfied with progress until progress stall, they see frantic activity picking up and they wonder “are we there yet?.

Like a family vacation, this trip is sometimes not even close to being finished.  You  expect that if 9,000 hours have been spent on a project estimated at 10,000 hours that you would be 90% done.  Surprisingly this is not the case for 7 projects out of 10 — have you ever worked on a project where a 90% project plan meant the project was 90% done?

Project PlanUsing a project plan to estimate completion is useful if there is a direct correlation between the project goal and the project plan. You often discover that the goal and the plan differ late in a project. Project plans and results differ because

  • Requirements and tasks are missing
  • The project is incorrectly estimated
  • Work is performed on tasks that do not advance the project

Requirements and Tasks are Missing

Clearly missing requirements mean that more work will be necessary to get to the goal, but the time for this work is rarely added to the project deadline.

A relative of missing requirements is missing tasks, this occurs when the work breakdown structure is incomplete and more subtasks are necessary to complete a task than estimated.

In both cases, if there are 2,000 hours of missing requirements and tasks then a project initially forecasted for 10,000 hours should move the deadline to 11,000 hours.  Therefore if 9,000 hours are done then you are only 75% complete.

OverbearingUnfortunately, weak IT leadership, internal politics, and embarrassment over  poor estimates will not move the deadline and teams will have pressure put on them by overbearing senior executives to get to the original deadline even though that is not possible.

The Project is Incorrectly Estimated

There is much literature about how accurate estimates are possible and necessary to successful projects.  Weak and uniformed IT leadership will cave in to senior management demands for project deadlines without formal estimates.  A typical interaction looks as follows:

CEO: We need feature X, how much will it cost and how long will it take to built?

VP Engineering: Well we need to define feature X properly, see how it will be implemented, determine if we have the necessary skill sets, and see what the impact to our other operations will be.  It will take time to do do this work.

CEO: We don’t have time for formal estimates.  How hard can it be to add feature X?  But next Friday, I will need a ballpark estimate for time and cost.

VP Engineering: I’ll see what I can come up with for next week.

Weak IT executives allow themselves to be bullied all the time by other executives that have no idea what is involved in IT projects.  The end result is an underspecified project that will be underestimated in time and cost (see Why Executive Declared Deadlines lead to Disaster)

The more inaccurate the requirements the more extra work there is to do to get to the target.  That is why short requirements processes lead to strongly shifting requirements and cancelled projects (see Shift Happens).  In fact, the degree of requirements shift is equal to the chance of a project being cancelled.

Work is Performed that Does Not Advance the Project

Even if a project is correctly specified, there are several activities that will be performed that will not advance the project:

  • Some requirements can not be implemented as specified and time will be spent researching and implementing work arounds
  • Some requirements will be ambiguously specified and be implemented incorrectly and need to be redone
  • Some requirements will be inconsistent and require time and analysis to establish consistent requirements
  • Infrastructure might need to be refactored when you discover that it will not support the code created later

ReworkWork executed on these activities will not advance your project and should not be counted in the total of completed hours.  So if 2,000 hours have been spent on activities that don’t advance the project then if 9,000 hours have been done on a 10,000 hour project then you have really done 7,000 hours of the 10,000 hour project and you are only 70% done.

Not Changing the Deadline Leads to Bad Practices

Whether a project is off course because of missing activities or non-productive activities, not changing the project end date will lead to schedule pressure as the project advances and people slowly start to realize that you are not going to make it.

HopeIsNotAStrategy

When it becomes clear that a project can’t make it’s original deadline many organizations will start common but deadly practices.  Excessive schedule pressure often leads to the following bad practices (see Stop It! No… Really stop it.):

  • Friction within the team
  • Friction amongst the managers
  • Inadequate communication with  stakeholders
  • Layoffs of key personnel

Solutions

There are only a few cures for the ‘Are we there yet?‘ problem:

  1. IT management with the intestinal fortitude to hold out for the creation of proper work breakdown structures and formal estimates
  2. Proper requirement processes that yield complete, consistent, and concise requirements
  3. Proper change management processes to alter the project deadline when missing tasks and non-productive activities are encountered

Failure to comply with these 3 principles means that you will continue to be subject to chaotic environments where 7 out of 10 projects fail (see Executives: Understanding your Chances of a Successful Project)

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