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Date: 24 May 93 18:36:23 GMT
From: cis.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.m
ps.ohio-state.edu!darwin.sura.net!jabba.ess.harris.com!mlb.semi.harris.com!dr3w
!smccoy@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU  (Scott McCoy)
Subject: Re: Hey, blame the private sector!
Message-ID: <1993May24.183623.22527@mlb.semi.harris.com>
List-Id: <comp.lang.ada>

In article <SRCTRAN.93May24122703@world.std.com>, srctran@world.std.com
(Gregory Aharonian) writes:
|>
|>>banking industry demonstrates this exactly.  How many of the
|>gravitationally
|>>challenged MIS leaders at banks have read Paul Strassmann's "The
|>Business
|>>Value of Computers"?  Indeed, have Greg et al read it?
|> 
|>    I have read most of everything Paul Strassman has written or said.
|>All
|>I know is that everytime he was interviewed in the computer media
|>about 
|>Defense software, not once did he mention Ada.  So I suspect anything
|>he
|>says about Ada because it is obvious he is embarassed to be
|>associated
|>with the language.

I put the 'Ada question' to Mr Strassman recently, and his response (I
paraphrase) was that while Ada was a good technology, technology alone 
will not solve the DoD's software development problems.  Mr Strassman 
felt that the keys to getting this problem under control involved
process definition and performing solid functional economic analysis
as the basis for information systems development.

His point was that when you develop 25 systems that fill the *same*
function, then it doesn't really matter what language/technology/
mystical incantations you use to develop them, does it?   You're 
wasting time and money.

So I think that it is more accurate to characterize his feelings
towards the Ada question as "that's not the issue, stupid", as opposed 
to embarassment.

Just IMHO and $0.02 worth, of course.
-- 
Scott McCoy     Harris ISD 
Staff Eng-SW    Opinions expressed are my own