Software engineer first duty: the preliminary financial feasibility analysis of real world software projects

In this paper we are presenting a general scheme proposal to be used as a preliminary financial feasibility analysis tool in complex software projects. We present our scheme proposal applied to a real world example. Before facing any real world software project, a sort of outline financial estimation is needed in order to evaluate if further talks and tasks have sense. This preliminary financial estimation is the first task (and duty) for software engineers. As a result of our experience, both in software project management and in academia, we are presenting a general scheme proposal to study, at first stages, a software project financial feasibility. We present our proposal related to the application of a "vertical software reuse" approach to an e-procurement project. As a general framework, we briefly introduce the concept of e-procurement systems and e-auctions as the most relevant components of an e-procurement application. We also remark the importance of e-procurement in e-government environments. Just as a reference, some successful e-procurement projects in Latin America are mentioned. We remark that the relevant aspect in the paper is our point of view and general scheme to evaluate the project expected finance impact during first talks with potential supporters. Investors do not like talking about lines of codes, function points, etc. In this paper we present "a language" that investors understand and use as a standard communication tool