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The System Development Corporation has been conducting research in the management of the computer programming process since 1963. This paper briefly describes some of the results of this research, plus individual research by the author, and the relevance and usefulness of the results to the operating manager. The paper emphasizes four specific types of management tools that were produced: (1) planning aids; (2) cost estimating guides; (3) a project reporting and control system; (4) a technique for evaluating the effectiveness of certain classes of computer-centered information systems. Each of these tools is briefly described, and the research design and procedures used in their development are mentioned. The experience gained in applying traditional research techniques to the computer programming process has yielded certain insights regarding the economic and management dimensions of computer programming, and several of these insights are discussed. Foremost among this author's conclusions is that the management principles that apply to any other coordinative activity are equally applicable to the computer programming process. Specific techniques may differ, especially at the lower echelons, but these differences pertain to the technical skills and procedures of the production process, they are engineering, not management or economic issues. The paper concludes with several general observations pertinent to future research in computer programming economics and management, and the use of the management tools described.