Productivity analysis of object-oriented software developed in a commercial environment

Empirical software productivity data were compared for several commercial software products developed in the same organization and business model, using both `classical' procedural and object-oriented methods. Results indicate that, although the introduction of object-oriented technology does not appear to hinder overall productivity on new large commercial projects, it does not seem to improve it in a systematic way, at least not in the first two product generations. Furthermore, examination of the data indicates that the governing influences may not be the methodology, but the business model imposed through schedule deadlines.