Adaptive Components: Software Engineering's Ace in the Hole

by Paul G. Bassett

The current trend (at least in North America) to take software development offshore is symptomatic of the IT industry's failure to learn from its mistakes. The writing has been on the wall for many years. For instance, as early as 1995, a US study by the Standish Group showed that 31% of all software projects would be cancelled [10]. Of those completed, 53% cost 189% of their original estimates. Even among smaller projects, those in the $500,000-$3 million range, 92% went over schedule.