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This suggestion is for Polyphony Digital regarding future features.
There is the age-old conflict between the desires of the end user, human optimism, and the realities of the process of software development. Wiser software developers avoid tying their hands with a date, since software development time estimation is in no way an exact science.
When there are immovable dates, and when the estimates are optimistically wrong, there are three ways of meeting the date. The first is to sacrifice functionality or other scope, the second is to sacrifice quality and the third is to throw more people at the project.
When it comes down to the wire, the third option is the worst. I recommend "The Mythical Man Month", by Fred Brooks for an explanation of Brooks's "Law".
Brooks's law is a principle in software development which says that, "adding manpower to a late software project makes it later." It was coined by Fred Brooks in his book The Mythical Man-Month. The corollary of Brooks's Law is that there is an incremental person who, when added to a project, makes it take more, not less time.
Brooks adds that "Nine women can't make a baby in one month. However, that's off topic."
Please keep using the term "at a later stage" at the web page http://www.gran-turismo.com/us/products/gt6/ and don't be tempted to publish a date for us until you are 100% sure that date can be met without sacrificing either quality or scope.
The GTPlanet members who have "Liked" this suggestion support the maintenance of acceptable quality PLUS fullness of functionality rather than the provision of a precise delivery date.
We want all the future features PD has publicized at the Gran-Turismo website and we want them to work really well!
PS. I have a postage stamp at home with a list on its back of all the software projects which ever came in on budget, on time, with promised scope and meeting required quality standards.
There is the age-old conflict between the desires of the end user, human optimism, and the realities of the process of software development. Wiser software developers avoid tying their hands with a date, since software development time estimation is in no way an exact science.
When there are immovable dates, and when the estimates are optimistically wrong, there are three ways of meeting the date. The first is to sacrifice functionality or other scope, the second is to sacrifice quality and the third is to throw more people at the project.
When it comes down to the wire, the third option is the worst. I recommend "The Mythical Man Month", by Fred Brooks for an explanation of Brooks's "Law".
Brooks's law is a principle in software development which says that, "adding manpower to a late software project makes it later." It was coined by Fred Brooks in his book The Mythical Man-Month. The corollary of Brooks's Law is that there is an incremental person who, when added to a project, makes it take more, not less time.
Brooks adds that "Nine women can't make a baby in one month. However, that's off topic."
Please keep using the term "at a later stage" at the web page http://www.gran-turismo.com/us/products/gt6/ and don't be tempted to publish a date for us until you are 100% sure that date can be met without sacrificing either quality or scope.
The GTPlanet members who have "Liked" this suggestion support the maintenance of acceptable quality PLUS fullness of functionality rather than the provision of a precise delivery date.
We want all the future features PD has publicized at the Gran-Turismo website and we want them to work really well!
PS. I have a postage stamp at home with a list on its back of all the software projects which ever came in on budget, on time, with promised scope and meeting required quality standards.
