This is an interview with one of the co-founders of Salon which does a good job of articulating why programming takes so long.

Some of the major points I have found to be completely true:

• · You can accurately estimate the portion of a project that many people have done already. You can’t accurately estimate the amount of time it will take to do something new.

• · Programmers can usually write something themselves faster than learning how to use someone else’s system. The only problem is that the product you end up with is rough around the edges. Leaning another system will take longer but may result in fewer bugs.

• · The best way to create software is always to have just one person write it. It just takes longer.