TheObjectFactory
June 23rd, 1999, 12:30 PM
For further information contact:
Robert Shorthouse/Catherine Hill
Scribe Marketing and Communications
Tel: 0141 357 5300
Email: optimize@scribe.co.uk
23 June 1999
OPTIMIZE PREDICTS AN END TO SPIRALLING COSTS AND
DELAYED RESULTS
Revolutionary new product management tool set to put an end to wayward IT projects
Aiming to reverse the alarming trend of software development projects running behind schedule and massively over budget, Livingston based software solution providers The Object Factory today launched Optimize - a suite of project management tools designed to estimate and forecast the cost, duration and resources required to build a software application. Optimize is the first product of its kind to provide project managers with the tangible, quantifiable and repeatable results needed to produce accurate estimates and predictions at the beginning of a project's life cycle.
The 1995 Standish Report on Project Management illustrated the scale of the problems facing software developers when it found that in the United States 31.1% of all projects will be abandoned before completion and that 52.7% will cost 189% of their original estimates. UK figures make equally stark reading. 22% of projects are abandoned and an incredible 89% run late or over budget.
"When we realised that companies were being forced to accept that initial project estimates were not worth the back of the envelope that they were written on, we knew that something had to be done," said Robert Armstrong co-founder of the Object Factory. "Optimize was developed to take the guess out of guestimating, allowing project managers to know exactly the scale of the task ahead. Put simply - tell Optimize what software you intend to build and it will tell you how long it will take, how much it will cost and how many people you will need to do the work."
"Unlike any other project management tool on the market, Optimize is based upon the unified modelling language (UML) - the industry wide method of specifying and describing software. This means that Optimize can be used in any type of software development across the globe and it will produce the kind of results that project managers are desperate for."
Formed in 1992, The Object Factory's extensive knowledge of object technology and component based development positions them as leading analysts of the budgetary and scheduling problems that have blighted the software development industry. It is these problems which Optimize seeks to address.
"Over the course of seven years and hundreds of projects, we've learned a few things about delivering high quality software systems on time and within budget. Our award winning estimation technique ObjectMetrix was born out of our hands-on consultative experience," said Robert Armstrong. "Optimize is the next logical step for The Object Factory - it is a case of putting everything that we have learned into one package."
With the testing of Optimize complete and early sales interest noted by many of the country's leading systems integrators and blue chip organisations, The Object Factory and its funding partners are confident that Optimize will be the cornerstone of ambitious global expansion plans.
Gillian Adens, co-founder of The Object Factory stated, "The latest forecasts predict that the market for software tools supporting component based development will grow to a world wide figure of $12 billion in 2001, representing an annual growth rate of over 80% As the only software estimating application specific to component based development on the market today, Optimize has enormous potential and will no doubt exceed our expectations. Our goal is to ensure that Optimize becomes the de facto standard for estimating software products worldwide."
Optimize makes its first public appearance at Application Development 99, to be held in the QEII Conference Centre, London, on 7 - 9 July. Product demonstrations can also be arranged on request.
For further information, please contact:
Robert Shorthouse/Catherine Hill
Scribe Marketing and Communications
Tel: 0141 357 5300
Email: optimize@scribe.co.uk
Notes to editors:
· The development of Optimize over the past two years has been supported by the Department of Trade and Industry and the Scottish Office Industry Department, under the auspices of the SMART and SPUR schemes.
· The Object Factory's estimating technique, ObjectMetrix, won the 1995 SMART and 1996 SPUR awards for innovation.
· The Object Factory can also today announce the successful conclusion of the first round of venture funding. Cash injections have been received from the Scottish Equity Partnership, West Lothian Venture Fund, WL Ventures and the Clydesdale Bank's Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme.
· The Standish Report on Product Management is available at http://www.standishgroup.com/chaos.html
The Object Factory's web site is at http://www.theobjectfactory.com/
--
The Object Factory, 1 Michaelson Square, Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland EH54 7DP
Tel: 01506 472023 Fax: 01506 472024 http://www.theobjectfactory.com/
The Object Factory Ltd.
Inventors of the award-winning ObjectMetrix software estimating and forecasting technique.
Robert Shorthouse/Catherine Hill
Scribe Marketing and Communications
Tel: 0141 357 5300
Email: optimize@scribe.co.uk
23 June 1999
OPTIMIZE PREDICTS AN END TO SPIRALLING COSTS AND
DELAYED RESULTS
Revolutionary new product management tool set to put an end to wayward IT projects
Aiming to reverse the alarming trend of software development projects running behind schedule and massively over budget, Livingston based software solution providers The Object Factory today launched Optimize - a suite of project management tools designed to estimate and forecast the cost, duration and resources required to build a software application. Optimize is the first product of its kind to provide project managers with the tangible, quantifiable and repeatable results needed to produce accurate estimates and predictions at the beginning of a project's life cycle.
The 1995 Standish Report on Project Management illustrated the scale of the problems facing software developers when it found that in the United States 31.1% of all projects will be abandoned before completion and that 52.7% will cost 189% of their original estimates. UK figures make equally stark reading. 22% of projects are abandoned and an incredible 89% run late or over budget.
"When we realised that companies were being forced to accept that initial project estimates were not worth the back of the envelope that they were written on, we knew that something had to be done," said Robert Armstrong co-founder of the Object Factory. "Optimize was developed to take the guess out of guestimating, allowing project managers to know exactly the scale of the task ahead. Put simply - tell Optimize what software you intend to build and it will tell you how long it will take, how much it will cost and how many people you will need to do the work."
"Unlike any other project management tool on the market, Optimize is based upon the unified modelling language (UML) - the industry wide method of specifying and describing software. This means that Optimize can be used in any type of software development across the globe and it will produce the kind of results that project managers are desperate for."
Formed in 1992, The Object Factory's extensive knowledge of object technology and component based development positions them as leading analysts of the budgetary and scheduling problems that have blighted the software development industry. It is these problems which Optimize seeks to address.
"Over the course of seven years and hundreds of projects, we've learned a few things about delivering high quality software systems on time and within budget. Our award winning estimation technique ObjectMetrix was born out of our hands-on consultative experience," said Robert Armstrong. "Optimize is the next logical step for The Object Factory - it is a case of putting everything that we have learned into one package."
With the testing of Optimize complete and early sales interest noted by many of the country's leading systems integrators and blue chip organisations, The Object Factory and its funding partners are confident that Optimize will be the cornerstone of ambitious global expansion plans.
Gillian Adens, co-founder of The Object Factory stated, "The latest forecasts predict that the market for software tools supporting component based development will grow to a world wide figure of $12 billion in 2001, representing an annual growth rate of over 80% As the only software estimating application specific to component based development on the market today, Optimize has enormous potential and will no doubt exceed our expectations. Our goal is to ensure that Optimize becomes the de facto standard for estimating software products worldwide."
Optimize makes its first public appearance at Application Development 99, to be held in the QEII Conference Centre, London, on 7 - 9 July. Product demonstrations can also be arranged on request.
For further information, please contact:
Robert Shorthouse/Catherine Hill
Scribe Marketing and Communications
Tel: 0141 357 5300
Email: optimize@scribe.co.uk
Notes to editors:
· The development of Optimize over the past two years has been supported by the Department of Trade and Industry and the Scottish Office Industry Department, under the auspices of the SMART and SPUR schemes.
· The Object Factory's estimating technique, ObjectMetrix, won the 1995 SMART and 1996 SPUR awards for innovation.
· The Object Factory can also today announce the successful conclusion of the first round of venture funding. Cash injections have been received from the Scottish Equity Partnership, West Lothian Venture Fund, WL Ventures and the Clydesdale Bank's Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme.
· The Standish Report on Product Management is available at http://www.standishgroup.com/chaos.html
The Object Factory's web site is at http://www.theobjectfactory.com/
--
The Object Factory, 1 Michaelson Square, Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland EH54 7DP
Tel: 01506 472023 Fax: 01506 472024 http://www.theobjectfactory.com/
The Object Factory Ltd.
Inventors of the award-winning ObjectMetrix software estimating and forecasting technique.