Blog Posts
A 5-Step Process for Release Planning
Software products are often used for two decades or more. Several researchers have shown the cost of maintenance and sustainment ranges between 40- and 80 percent of the total lifecycle …
• By Robert Ferguson
Governance of a Software Product Line: Complexities and Goals
My prior blog post on product lines in DoD sustainment described the complexity of contractual relationships in a DoD software product line....
• By Robert Ferguson
Decisions for Sustaining a Software Product Line
A software product line is a collection of related products with shared software artifacts and engineering services that has been developed by a single organization intended to serve different missions …
• By Robert Ferguson
7 Recommended Practices for Monitoring Software-Intensive System Acquisition (SISA) Programs
This post, the first in a three-part series by Robert Ferguson, first explores the challenges to Monitoring Software-Intensive System Acquisition (SISA) programs and presents the first two recommended best practices …
• By SPRUCE Project, Robert Ferguson
An Investment Model for Software Sustainment
Software sustainment involves coordinating the processes, procedures, people, information, and databases required to support, maintain, and operate software-reliant aspects of DoD systems. The 2011 book Examination of the U.S. Air …
• By Robert Ferguson
A New Approach for Developing Cost Estimates in Software Reliant Systems, Second in a Two-Part Series
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has frequently cited poor cost estimation as one of the reasons for cost overrun problems in acquisition programs. Software is often a major culprit. One …
• By Robert Ferguson
Improving the Accuracy of Early Cost Estimates for Software-Reliant Systems, First in a Two-Part Series
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has frequently citedpoor cost estimation as one of the reasons for cost overrun problems in acquisition programs. Software is often a major culprit. One study …