Software Development Quotes

“The ideal architect should be a man of letters, a skillful draftsman, a mathematician, familiar with historical studies, a diligent student of philosophy, acquainted with music, not ignorant of medicine, learned in the responses of jurisconsults, familiar with astronomy and astronomical calculations.”
― Vitruvius

“Programming is breaking of one big impossible task into several very small possible tasks.”
― Jazzwant

“If it is not written down, it does not exist.”
― Philippe Kruchten

“Today I am more convinced than ever. Conceptual integrity is central to product quality. Having a system architect is the most important single step toward conceptual integrity. These principles are by no means limited to software systems, but to the design of any complex construct, whether a computer, an airplane, a Strategic Defense Initiative, a Global Positioning System. After teaching a software engineering laboratory more than 20 times, I came to insist that student teams as small as four people choose a manager and a separate architect. Defining distinct roles in such small teams may be a little extreme, but I have observed it to work well and to contribute to design success even for small teams.”
― Frederick P. Brooks Jr., The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering

“When you yet to do 100% of what somebody wants, you need a perfect match, and it's pretty rare that you have a perfect match between what you thought people needed and what they actually need. If you try instead to do 80 percent of what they need, there's a pretty good chance you'll hit a sweet spot.”
― David Heinemeier Hansson

“Years later, when I got to college, I learned about an important theory of psychology called Learned Helplessness, developed by Dr. Martin E. P. Seligman. This theory, backed up by years of research, is that a great deal of depression grows out of a feeling of helplessness: the feeling that you cannot control your environment.”
― Frederick P. Brooks Jr., The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering

“Software Development is an ideal gas: it occupies all the volume it can.”
― Pat Boens

“To focus on the visible at the expense of the essential is irresponsible.”
― Bertrand Meyer, Agile!: The Good, the Hype and the Ugly

“Software architecture is the set of design decisions which, if made incorrectly, may cause your project to be cancelled.”
― Eoin Woods

“A good estimate is an estimate that provides a clear enough view of the project reality to allow the project leadership to make good decisions about how to control the project to hit its targets.”
― Steve McConnell

“Worse yet is the rejection of upfront requirements. The basic observation is correct: requirements will change, and are hard anyway to capture at the beginning. In no way, however, does it imply the dramatic conclusion that upfront requirements are useless! What it does imply is that requirements should be subject to change, like all other artifacts on the software process.

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The agile advice here is irresponsible and serious software projects should ignore it.The sound practice is to start collecting requirements at the beginning, produce a provisional version prior to engaging in design, and treat the requirements as a living product that undergoes constant adaptation throughout the project.”
― Bertrand Meyer

“The Scrum idea of a separated Scrum Master is good for Scrum, but not appropriate for most projects. Good development requires not just talkers but doers.”
― Bertrand Meyer