This is a good analysis. The core question is, "Why aren't more startups are working on programmer productivity." My early experience was in system design for

This is a good analysis. The core question is, "Why aren't more startups are working on programmer productivity." My early experience was in system design for board level and chip level systems (e.g. ASICs, FPGAs, SOCs) where there is considerable investment in tools ("electronic design automation" because we had some clear metrics for developer productivity. My simple answer is there are multiple reasons: + The industry has been very well served by open source tools. + Outsource development and test firms tend to bill by the hour not the result, cutting hours lowers their revenue. + Coaches tend to focus on methodology and process results, not programmer productivity. + Managers of the programming / development function don't appear to devote cycles to determining where investment in commercial tools would pay off. There are exceptions. + First level managers tend to measure success by headcount, mirroring the outsource development and test firms, and not results. --- I think there are significant opportunities for startups developing productivity tools but they are in niche markets that complement existing open source where development teams are paid for or rewarded on results not hours.