The application software of the CERN PS accelerator controls system — analysis of its cost and resources

Abstract The CERN PS accelerators have evolved into one of the world's most sophisticated high energy physics facility. The variety of beams and their high repetition rate means that a most sophisticated controls system is required. This reflects on the application software. At the time of the completion of the new control system, nearly 1000 programs, amounting to around 450 000 lines of code, have been developed at the cost of approximately 120 man-years. The span of this software ranges from real-time application programs to special purpose development and management tools. This paper documents the cost, resources and production of this software project. These are analyzed in terms of the structure of the application software. Rules-of-thumb are suggested for estimating the required effort at various phases of the project and to define the implementation strategy.