- To uniquely identify the project within the organization. Code names are frequently chosen to be outside the normal business/domain jargon that the organization uses, in order to not conflict with established terminology.
- To assist with maintaining Secrecy of the project against rival concerns. Some corporations routinely change project names in order to further confuse competitors.
- When the goal of the project is to develop one or more commercial ''products'', use of a code name allows the eventual choice of product nomenclature (the name the product(s) are marketed and sold under) to be decoupled from the development effort. This is especially important when one project generates multiple products, or multiple projects are needed to produce a single product.
- To allow ''subprojects'' to be given a separate identity from the main project.
- As a political tool by management, to decouple an early phase of a development effort (which may have failed) from a subsequent phase (which may be given a "fresh start").
Different organizations have different policies regarding the use and publication of project code names. Some companies take great pains to ''never'' discuss project code names outside of the company (other than with outside entities who have a need to know, and typically are bound with a Non-disclosure Agreement ). Other companies never use them in official or formal communications, but widely disseminate project code names through informal channels (often in an attempt to create a marketing "buzz" for the project). Still others (such as Microsoft ) discuss code names publicly, and routinely use project code names on beta releases and such, but remove them from final projects. At the end of the spectrum, Apple Computer has recently been including the project code names for Mac OS X as part of the official project name.
- Intel often names CPU projects after Rivers in the American West, particularly in the state of Oregon (where most of Intel's CPU projects are designed). Examples include , '''Deschutes''', '''Yamhill''', '''Tualatin''', and '''Clackamas'''.
- Apple Computer has named the various major releases of Mac OS X after large Cats , such as , '''Tiger''', '''Panther''', '''Leopard'''
- --- Apple also got into a legal battle in 1993 with the late astronomer Carl Sagan , when Mr. Sagan objected (via his lawyers) to a project within Apple with the code name (apparently chosen under the belief that it would earn Apple "billyun and billyuns" of dollars). The project was renamed '''BHA''' (short for "Butt-head Astronomer"). Sagan sued Apple for libel, claiming that the pejorative "Butt-head" was defamatory, and lost.
- Nintendo often uses code names for new consoles. The most well-known is that of Wii , which was codenamed as the for over a year. Others include the Gamecube 's codename of '''Dolphin''' and the Nintendo 64 as '''Ultra 64'''.
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