ABSTRACT
Executive summary: This method is the oldest method of all in software. It was the primary method in the 1950s, when computers were in their infancy, and applications were small and usually developed by one person, who handled the whole project from end to end. With the cowboy method, applications were usually less than 100 function points in size or less than 5000 source code statements in total. With cowboy development, individual programmers did the entire project. There were no development “teams” like those that began to occur when software applications grew in size and complexity. In spite of a complete lack of formal methods and rigor, a few brilliant “cowboy” developers did create some amazing software.
