How do I sell my boss on productivity software?

Question

Hello, I am Software Engineer that is currently using .NET to develop applications. At my work, we have Visual Studio, but no productivity tools. I've used CodeSmith in past and have found that it made me significantly more productive. My boss, is very, for lack of a better word, cheap. I was hoping that some of you guys would have some links to presentations/studies/facts etc. that would show that there is a significant monetary benefit to using productivity software. A comparison of the costs and benefits of the various productivity software would be useful as well.

Answer 1

Time = Money

Give a practical example:

• How much time you need to do something with codesmith
• How much time you need to do something without codesmith

Then do the math for him

Answer 2

If the tool is not too expensive, I normally buy it. Even if the boss don't care, for me it is a productivity boost nonetheless and I have more time to do other things. When you mention the tool in meetings they might get interested, even more so if you can show the productivity gains.

Answer 3

Just gather the data that proves to your boss that the tool with either:

A) Increase Revenue

or

B) Decrease Cost

That should do it.

Answer 4

I don't bother. Pretty much any software development productivity aids that are worth having also have a rough Free Software equivalent somewhere.

Free Software is far superior for this kind of thing anyway, because when you need your tool tweaked to work better for you (or just work), you can do it. Also, you don't have to worry about the vendor going belly-up and taking their codebase down the drain with them.

Plus there is nothing to "sell" to the boss, and the Licensing (if you pay attention) is rarely a problem. If the BSA comes around, you can give them a big Bronx Cheer.