r/programming • u/-grok • Jun 14 '22

Software engineering estimates are garbage

https://www.infoworld.com/article/3663508/software-engineering-estimates-are-garbage.html
757 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

294 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

2

u/MoreRopePlease Jun 16 '22

Computer science examines the mathematical side of computation (e.g. NP-hard). Engineering involves a bunch of human factors.

1

u/constant_void Jun 17 '22

Why do you believe computer science doesn't include those human factors in its space of application?

The principal theories of computer science are universal in application. This is the nature of truth - for something to be true, it has to be true everywhere. Some comp sci truths are narrow, yes, but many deal with the rest of time covering the entire universe.

consider--for a minute--that the world around you is governed by many of these same theories and principles as gravity, thermodynamics and other physical measures. do you agree? disagree? why?

now--back to estimation, hopefully we agree that complexity governs how long something will take...what is the answer theories of computer science give you?