“I believe that large programming projects suffer management problems different in kind from small ones, due to division of labor. I believe… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share Image
“The programmer at wit's end for lack of space can often do best by disentangling himself from his code, rearing back, and… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share Image
“The big change has been in the hardware/software cost ratio. The buyer of a $2-million machine in 1960 felt that he could… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share Image
“Any attempt to fix it with minimum effort will repair the local and obvious, but unless the structure is pure or the… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share Image
“Oversimplifying outrageously, we state Brooks's Law: Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later. This then is the demythologizing of… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share Image
“I believe the hard part of building software to be the specification, design, and testing of this conceptual construct, not the labor… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share Image
“I have long enjoyed asking candidate programmers, "Where is next November?" If the question is too cryptic, then, "Tell me about your… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share Image
“Program maintenance involves no cleaning, lubrication, or repair of deterioration. It consists chiefly of changes that repair design defects. Much more often… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share Image
“I do not believe we will find the magic here. Program verification is a very powerful concept, and it will be very… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share Image
“Peopleware. A major contribution during recent years has been DeMarco and Lister's 1987 book, Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams. Its underlying thesis… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share Image
“By the architecture of a system, I mean the complete and detailed specification of the user interface. For a computer this is… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share Image
“Finally, there is the delight of working in such a tractable medium. The programmer, like the poet, works only slightly removed from… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share Image
“A computer program is a message from a man to a machine. The rigidly marshaled syntax and the scrupulous definitions all exist… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share Image
“Power tools for the mind. The most dramatic way to improve the productivity of management information systems (MIS) programmers is to go… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share Image
“If, as I believe, the conceptual structures we construct today are too complicated to be accurately specified in advance, and too complex… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share Image
“Radically better software robustness and productivity are to be had only by moving up a level, and making programs by the composition… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share Image
“Therefore the most important function that software builders do for their clients is the iterative extraction and refinement of the product requirements.… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share Image
“The computer has brought a similar fluidity to many other media: artistic drawings, building plans, mechanical drawings, musical compositions, photographs, video sequences,… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share Image
“This really does attack essence. Because the build-on-package phenomenon does not today affect the average MIS programmer, it is not yet very… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share Image
“Even at a cost of $100,000, a purchased piece of software is costing only about as much as one programmer-year. And delivery… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share Image
“The metaprogrammer who uses one, or especially several, applications as components in a larger system. This is the user whose needs are poorly met… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share
“The big change has been in the hardware/software cost ratio. The buyer of a $2-million machine in 1960 felt that he could afford $250,000… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share
“The job done least well by project managers is to utilize the technical genius who is not strong on management talent.” — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share
“I have long enjoyed asking candidate programmers, "Where is next November?" If the question is too cryptic, then, "Tell me about your mental model… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share
“Reducing the role conflict. The boss must first distinguish between action information and status information. He must discipline himself not to act on problems… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share
“Lehman and Belady have studied the history of successive releases in a large operating system.[6] They find that the total number of modules increases… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share
“Because ease of use is the purpose, this ratio of function to conceptual complexity is the ultimate test of system design. Neither function alone… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share
“...give a great deal of attention to keeping his managers and his technical people as interchangeable as their talents allow. The barriers are sociological...… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share
“The computer has brought a similar fluidity to many other media: artistic drawings, building plans, mechanical drawings, musical compositions, photographs, video sequences, slide presentations,… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share
“As time passes, the system becomes less and less well-ordered. Sooner or later the fixing cease to gain any ground. Each forward step is… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share
“Finally, a manager's documents give him a data base and checklist. By reviewing them periodically he sees where he is, and he sees what… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share
“Indeed, the cost-performance ratio of the product will depend most heavily on the implementer, just as ease of use depends most heavily on the… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share
“Hustle provides the cushion, the reserve capacity, that enables a team to cope with routine mishaps, to anticipate and forfend minor calamities. The calculated… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share
“I do not believe we will find the magic here. Program verification is a very powerful concept, and it will be very important for… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share
“By the architecture of a system, I mean the complete and detailed specification of the user interface. For a computer this is the programming… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share
