A generic life-cycle cost model for an embedded controller
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The need for a generic life cycle cost model surfaced during the course of research work which was being conducted by the Department of Computer Science at Texas Tech University for FSI International, Inc. The purpose of the research was to develop a requirements specification for a Module Level Controller, which controls "all operations of the semiconductor processing equipment" [FSII90,2]. A conference involving research staff from the Department of Computer Science and an FSI management team revealed that no accurate means of estimating the cost of a hardwarejsoftware project from its inception to its completion was being utilized by FSI. Costs associated with activities such as research, design, testing, and support were viewed separately and addressed at various stages in the system life cycle, not viewed on an integrated basis [BLAN90]. Furthermore, preliminary investigation by the staff at Texas Tech concluded that none of the available life cycle costing models accurately reflected the life cycle of an embedded controller project conducted by FSI.