Hacker News Reader

As a consumer, I can buy an already manufactured pair of jeans or an already programmed Adobe Photoshop for a fixed price.

As a producter, the cost of building a jeans factory does not seem to be inherently more predictable than the budget of a software development project.

View on HN

I think, to take this analogy a step further, you need to make sure your manager realizes the factory is not built yet.

You think when Tim Cook signs a contract with Foxconn, he says "charge me whatever you want after it's done"?

The recent Foxconn plant in Wisconsin that may or may not be happening is a great example. They committed earlier, and claim now that their initial estimates were incorrect and that a plant in that area will not be profitable for them. They have now stopped the plan entirely and reworked what it is they are going to build completely from scratch. This despite having already committed to building the factory.

Even at scale people can pull out of complex agreements if their estimates turn out to be faulty.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com