Business Case for ReSharper

Question

We are trying to get ReSharper introduced to our company but it would have to be for all developers. Management want us to justify the cost with a business case.

I am unsure how to go about getting proof that ReSharper will benefit the business. What kind of statistics can you get from it?

Answer 1

See the ReSharper Benefits For You and Your Business document for a small ROI analysis. Unfortunately it is not backed by any hard data and boils down to the assumption that developer productivity increases by 35 percent when using ReSharper, but it sums up all the arguments for using a productivity solution like ReSharper.

Answer 2

No statistics, but here's a very good blog article arguing the case for Resharper. Some coworkers and I used some of these justifications to get it bought for us.

EDIT

Changed the link to point to the internet archive version

Answer 3

Basically, it's a tool to reduce development time:

• Visualize more problems immediately
  • Improved coding speed by showing warnings (from info up to error) and allowing developers to fix them by a simple Ctrl + Space
• Enforce naming conventions (customizable)
• Way better refactoring: Not only leading to fewer bugs, but also allowing more operations; refactoring improves the velocity (no refactoring leads to slower and slower development speed)
• Way faster code navigation (meaning opening the desired file location):
  • camelCase find file/class/symbol, by Ctrl+[Shift]+T
  • Find where a piece is used in all the source code
• Developers can learn something: The auto-correction suggestions are usually taking into account some refactoring tricks and the latest .NET features. It's not only like an MS Word spell corrector, but it's also even going to tell you how you could say the same better.

Note: Technically, it can be installed on a single machine. If installed on the machine of the lead dev or project manager, (s)he can review code much faster. Refactoring and integration are some important tasks of a lead dev.

On a downside, I don't believe in the advertised gain. That gain is based on a bad development process with idealistic gain. What I can tell you is that it made my life better as a developer.

Answer 4

While I cannot, even from my own organization provide direct metrics, the tool provides a wealth of assistance and hints for developers.

It will also, when properly used, help an organization have more consistent code following the organizations code standards.

It will also highlight new features in newer.net frameworks and gently show developers how they can be applied to their code.

The tool is fantastic in getting rid of some code smells.

Aside from that aspect, once developers become more proficient in its use, it has a great number navigational features that allow them to quickly zip through code.

Answer 5

I know business managers loves them some numbers, but the best business case is anecdotal:

It makes developers happy.

True, it does increase productivity, but that's hard to prove. Making developers happy should be enough, since happy developers are more productive. You might want to point out that the static code analysis is built in to it, therefore nudging developers toward writing better code, gently training them to code cleanly.

Answer 6

If management just want a set up numbers put in front of them, I have knocked up a basic app that should give an indication to the potential ROI that can be had from purchasing a tool like ReSharper. Even if you don't follow the 35% claim in productivity improvement, a 1% improvement still brings a ROI.