The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering

by Frederick P. Brooks Jr.

one wants the system to be built by as few minds as possible.

Programming productivity may be increased as much as five times when a suitable high-level language is used.

Where a new system concept or new technology is used, one has to build a system to throw away, for even the best planning is not so omniscient as to get it right the first time.

A baseball manager recognizes a nonphysical talent, hustle, as an essential gift of great players and great teams. It is the characteristic of running faster than necessary, moving sooner than necessary, trying harder than necessary. It is essential for great programming teams, too.

The preparation of a PERT chart is the most valuable part of its use. Laying out the network, identifying the dependencies, and estimating the legs all force a great deal of very specific planning very early in a project.

The boss must first distinguish between action information and status information. He must discipline himself not to act on problems his managers can solve, and never to act on problems when he is explicitly reviewing status.

What Documentation Is Required?

Nothing even convincing, much less exciting, has yet emerged from such efforts. I am persuaded that nothing will.