From the Sales Front

QSM Signs Contract with Office of the Secretary of Defense
QSM recently won a one year contract with option years from OSD. QSM will provide PA&E support in software estimating and a comprehensive database on modern software development practices to assist PA&E analysts in their evaluation of cost estimates for software. This will allow QSM visibility into larger, more complex IT applications developed by the DoD.

QSM Welcomes New Clients
QSM's client base is growing as seen by our classes filling up more quickly than ever before. We recently had to add an extra January class to the schedule because the first one was filled by December 9! In addition to OSD, QSM is pleased to welcome a number of other new clients signing on to use SLIM products. Such major companies as Fidelity, Neustar Inc., Belastingdienst (Dutch Inland Revenue), and USMC LOGCOM have all recently joined the numerous other businesses and organizations who recognize the benefits of QSM's software estimating and planning tools. Some of the benefits are...

• the ability to save major time in the planning process
• the ability to use industry trends to sanity check and defend estimates
• and the fact that QSM and SLIM are providing the repeatable estimating process that organizations are looking for.

To get a free demo, contact Keith Ciocco by email at keith_ciocco@qsm.com or phone 703-749-3812.

From the R&D Lab

QSM Development Study Featured in Computerworld
The September issue of Computerworld magazine featured an article on QSM's "Haste Makes Waste" study. The study, which shows that, contrary to popular belief, adding resources to speed up software development makes the project more expensive and results in an increase in defects, supported findings by Frederick P. Brooks made 30 years ago in The Mythical Man-Month. Linda Hayes writes,

Some try to dismiss the relevance of the 30th anniversary edition of this book by waving the banner of "virtual programming, faster machines and bigger memories" as though the phenomenon observed in the book - that is, the nonlinear economics of resource scalability - can be explained away by hardware... Yet the undeniable fact is that the same results observed in the book have been statistically confirmed by QSM 10 years ago and now again this year. Simply put, adding resources has a declining marginal benefit to schedule compression and an increasing negative impact on quality.

To read the full article, click here.

QSM plans to publish the QSM Software Almanac: IT Metrics Edition at the beginning of 2006. To request more information regarding this study, please contact Doug Putnam at doug_putnam@qsm.com or 703-749-3817.

QSM Europe

QSM Europe Hosts Successful User's Conference
QSM Europe had a great turn-out for their most recent User's Conference at the beginning of December. There were over 100 people in attendance at this year's event. Among the presenters were Feno Monaco, Manager Estimation and Metrics COE of Allstate Insurance; Emiel Zondvleet, Director Accelerated Delivery Center (ADC) of CAP GEMINI; Marian Froon, Manager Contract Management of the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration; Hans Vonk of QSM Europe; and Doug Putnam and Larry Putnam, Jr. of QSM, Inc. The formal presentations were followed by a social hour and dinner where all the attendees were able to network and share their thoughts on challenges, ideas, and solutions to problems that we all face on a daily basis in the software industry.

To view presentations and pictures from the 2005 QSM Europe User's Conference, visit www.qsm-europe.com.

From the Support Center

Trend Lines info here
We recently completed the 2005 database update, bringing the total of projects in the QSM database to 7,100. New trend lines are available for download on the QSM web site on the Downloads page and will be included in the next release of SLIM Suite, scheduled for this spring. The Function Point Gearing Factors Table was also updated with 10 new languages, and gearing factors for 15 programming languages were adjusted based on new information from the database.

One question we're frequently asked when we complete a trend line update is: what has changed since the last time around? System sizes are still decreasing, something we attribute to incremental build strategies; the increasing frequency of software reuse; and smarter management that is breaking large, unwieldy systems into smaller, easier-to-control projects. PIs also seem to be continuing their downward trend.

We'll be gearing up to start collecting projects for the next database update shortly after the New Year. Contributing to the database is a great way to see your organization reflected in the industry trends - if you're interested in learning more, please call or email Kate Armel at 301-865-8242 or support@qsm.com.

SLIM Training
If you have a requirement for training new SLIM users in your company or need a refresher course, training dates are now available for 2006:

To register for an upcoming training course or to request on-site training, please contact Keith Ciocco at keith_ciocco@qsm.com or 703-749-3812.

Call QSM today for a FREE DEMO
of our best in class SLIM-Suite Estimation Products
800 424 6755

You received this email because you, or your company, have purchased products or requested information from our company regarding the products or services shown above. You have the right to remove your name from this list by responding to this email with the word "Remove" in the subject line. If you choose to remain on this list, your email will be kept confidential and will never be sold or disseminated to any other source. Copyright QSM, Inc., 2000 Corporate Ridge, Suite 200, McLean, VA 22102