Article: NASA launch software

[Max Morrison]

"But how much work the software does is not what makes it remarkable.  
What makes it remarkable is how well the software works. This software  
never crashes. It never needs to be re-booted. This software is bug-
free. It is perfect, as perfect as human beings have achieved...."

<http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/06/writestuff.html?page=0%2C0>


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[Michael Larue]

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Hi Max,

> This software never crashes. It never needs to be re-booted. This
> software is bug-free. It is perfect, as perfect as human beings
> have achieved...."

Great article!

However, to balance things out, one must also keep in mind the following,
stated towards the end of the article:

> Admittedly they have a lot of advantages over the rest of the software
> world. They have a single product: one program that flies one spaceship.
> They understand their software intimately, and they get more familiar with
> it all the time. The group has one customer, a smart one. And money is not
> the critical constraint: the groups $35 million per year budget is a trivial
> slice of the NASA pie, but on a dollars-per-line basis, it makes the group
> among the nation's most expensive software organizations.

Now, from what I can glean from the article, it's 420,000 lines long, and
been in development for 20 years @ $35 million/year (assuming a constant
cost per year--most likely the first few years had a higher cost compared to
more or less the maintenance costs that is required currently).

That's at least $700 million for 420,000 lines of code, or well over $1600
per line of code.

And they still have bugs? :-)

Seriously, the article is an interesting read--basically, what's the "best"
way to program a complex system if money is no constraint. Clearly, planning
and management is a key (or the main?) component--I'd bet the code itself is
remarkably clean and "simple" (although that's just a guess, not based on
anything stated in the article). And managing a staff of 260 alone is quite
a complex task, let alone what the software is that they're building.

Compare the shuttle software with, say, any Microsoft product... :-)

In an interview with Nathan Myhrvold from September 1995,

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/3.09/myhrvold.html

he says,

> As director of Microsoft's Advanced Technology Group, Nathan Myhrvold oversees
> 650 serfs and spends $150 million a year

and

> Basic had 4,000 lines of code in 1975. Currently, it has perhaps half a
> million. Microsoft Word was at 27,000 lines of code in the first version. It's
> now about 2 million

Don't know if the comparison is fair, but it's certainly food for thought.

One thing I didn't get--the final paragraph:

> Plastered on a conference room wall, an informal slogan of the on-board
> shuttle group captures the essence of keeping focused on the process: "The
> sooner you fall behind, the more time you will have to catch up."

Anyone care to explain it to me? Somehow I'm not getting the deeper meaning.
As a joke, it's somewhat lame; as a slogan, well, it doesn't inspire me. I
must be missing something...

Cheers!

Michael Larue

--------------------------

> From: 4d_pub-request@...
> Reply-To: 4d_pub@...
> Date: Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:00:05 -0800 (PST)
> To: 4d_pub@...
> Subject: 4d_pub Digest, Vol 16, Issue 1
>
> Message: 1
> Subject: Article: NASA launch software
> Date: Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:40:35 -0900
> From: Max Morrison <maxxie@...>
> To: 4D Pub <4d_pub@...>
> Message-ID: <2C83FB68-DB38-4310-9EEF-6EE8D112B8E1@...>
>
>
> "But how much work the software does is not what makes it remarkable.
> What makes it remarkable is how well the software works. This software
> never crashes. It never needs to be re-booted. This software is bug-
> free. It is perfect, as perfect as human beings have achieved...."
>
> <http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/06/writestuff.html?page=0%2C0>

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[Max Morrison]

Hi Michael,

On Jan 10, 2009, at 3:57 PM, Michael Larue wrote:

> Sunday, January 11, 2009
>
> Hi Max,
>
>> This software never crashes. It never needs to be re-booted. This
>> software is bug-free. It is perfect, as perfect as human beings
>> have achieved...."
>
> Great article!
>

snip

> Now, from what I can glean from the article, it's 420,000 lines  
> long, and
> been in development for 20 years @ $35 million/year (assuming a  
> constant
> cost per year--most likely the first few years had a higher cost  
> compared to
> more or less the maintenance costs that is required currently).
>
> That's at least $700 million for 420,000 lines of code, or well over  
> $1600
> per line of code.
>
> And they still have bugs? :-)
>
> Seriously, the article is an interesting read--basically, what's the  
> "best"
> way to program a complex system if money is no constraint. Clearly,  
> planning
> and management is a key (or the main?) component--I'd bet the code  
> itself is
> remarkably clean and "simple" (although that's just a guess, not  
> based on
> anything stated in the article). And managing a staff of 260 alone  
> is quite
> a complex task, let alone what the software is that they're building.
>
> Compare the shuttle software with, say, any Microsoft product... :-)
>
> In an interview with Nathan Myhrvold from September 1995,
>
> http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/3.09/myhrvold.html
>
> he says,
>
>

snip

> Don't know if the comparison is fair, but it's certainly food for  
> thought.

Your thought are well founded.

My objective was merely to pass along some (older) information on the  
practices employed... but as you note there are arguable questions  
about comparisons and costs.

>
>
> One thing I didn't get--the final paragraph:
>
>> Plastered on a conference room wall, an informal slogan of the on-
>> board
>> shuttle group captures the essence of keeping focused on the  
>> process: "The
>> sooner you fall behind, the more time you will have to catch up."
>
> Anyone care to explain it to me? Somehow I'm not getting the deeper  
> meaning.
> As a joke, it's somewhat lame; as a slogan, well, it doesn't inspire  
> me. I
> must be missing something...

Yeah, I found it too subtle... supposing it was sarcasm: the process  
which takes over when errors are uncovered is quite rigorous and quite  
beyond the scope of the "innocent" error which spawned it, with the  
moral being... find your errors!  Kinda fits the "Adultness" image the  
group reflects to itself, I guess.

later ~ max

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[John Steele-3]

Michael,

There's a joke in Agile circles that an Agile process won't help you  
deliver better software, but it'll tell you you're delivering the  
wrong software sooner.

Perhaps the NASA folks are saying something similar? The sooner you  
*realize* you're behind the sooner you can take corrective action.

Cheers,

On Jan 10, 2009, at 4:57 PM, Michael Larue wrote:

>>
>> Plastered on a conference room wall, an informal slogan of the on-
>> board
>> shuttle group captures the essence of keeping focused on the  
>> process: "The
>> sooner you fall behind, the more time you will have to catch up."
>
> Anyone care to explain it to me? Somehow I'm not getting the deeper  
> meaning.
> As a joke, it's somewhat lame; as a slogan, well, it doesn't inspire  
> me. I
> must be missing something...

  - John

John Steele
jsteele@...
[phone] m



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[Michael Larue]

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Hi John,

Good to hear from you again!!! Been a few years, eh? :-)

> Perhaps the NASA folks are saying something similar? The sooner you
> *realize* you're behind the sooner you can take corrective action.

Could be, but boy that's a pretty subtle interpretation from the original
slogan. And the author of the article says the slogan "captures the essence
of keeping focused on the process". I don't see that slogan capturing that
essence, at least with my slow brain. (I suspect the author didn't really
grasp it either.)

I think Max might be closer to the mark with it being sarcasm, perhaps an
offhand slap at other programming methodologies (particularly the late night
pizza and coke crowd)--when viewed in that light, I think it makes sense and
would be something the NASA group probably would find funny (since they
likely never find themselves in that situation).

Cheers!

Michael Larue

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