---
title: "1 Busy work Quotes By Tom DeMarco"
description: "1 Busy work quotes by Tom DeMarco. Plus more from Tom DeMarco and more Busy work sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b5/tom-demarco-12134_busy_organizational-busy-work-tends-to-expand_1231066.png"
---

> [Organizational busy work tends to expand to fill the working day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-demarco/organizational-busy-work-tends-to-expand-to-fill-the-working-day/)

[Tom DeMarco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-demarco/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b5/tom-demarco-12134_busy_organizational-busy-work-tends-to-expand_1231066.png)

## More by Tom DeMarco

> [“More important than any gimmick you introduce is a change in attitude. People must learn that it’s okay sometimes not to answer their phones,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-demarco/more-important-than-any-gimmick-you-introduce-is-a-change-in-attitude/)

[Tom DeMarco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-demarco/)

> [“We have become so obsessed with getting rid of people who are burdened with the characterization overhead that we have ended up with organizations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-demarco/we-have-become-so-obsessed-with-getting-rid-of-people-who-are/)

[Tom DeMarco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-demarco/)

> [The more you focus on control, the more likely you're working on a project that's striving to deliver something of relatively minor value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-demarco/the-more-you-focus-on-control-the-more-likely-you-re-working-on-a/)

[Tom DeMarco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-demarco/)

> [Product quality has almost nothing to do with defects or their lack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-demarco/product-quality-has-almost-nothing-to-do-with-defects-or-their-lack/)

[Tom DeMarco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-demarco/)

> [“Internal competition has the direct effect of making coaching difficult or impossible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-demarco/internal-competition-has-the-direct-effect-of-making-coaching/)

[Tom DeMarco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-demarco/)

> [“People under time pressure don’t work better—they just work faster.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-demarco/people-under-time-pressure-don-t-work-better-they-just-work-faster/)

[Tom DeMarco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-demarco/)

> [“The most obvious defensive management ploys are prescriptive Methodologies (“My people are too dumb to build systems without them” ) and technical interference by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-demarco/the-most-obvious-defensive-management-ploys-are-prescriptive/)

[Tom DeMarco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-demarco/)

> [“The need for uniformity is a sign of insecurity on the part of management. Strong managers don’t care when team members cut their hair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-demarco/the-need-for-uniformity-is-a-sign-of-insecurity-on-the-part-of/)

[Tom DeMarco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-demarco/)

> [“If you’ve got decent people under you, there is probably nothing you can do to improve their chances of success more dramatically than to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-demarco/if-you-ve-got-decent-people-under-you-there-is-probably-nothing-you/)

[Tom DeMarco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-demarco/)

> [ “While this \[10 to 1\] productivity differential among programmers is understandable, there is also a 10 to 1 difference in productivity among software organizations” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-demarco/while-this-10-to-1-productivity-differential-among-programmers-is/)

[Tom DeMarco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-demarco/)

> [Training is practice doing a new task much more slowly than an expert would do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-demarco/training-is-practice-doing-a-new-task-much-more-slowly-than-an-expert/)

[Tom DeMarco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-demarco/)

> [If you find yourself concentrating on the technology rather than the sociology, you're like the vaudeville character who loses his keys on a dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-demarco/if-you-find-yourself-concentrating-on-the-technology-rather-than-the/)

[Tom DeMarco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-demarco/)

> [“in the best organizations, the short term is not the only thing that matters. What matters more is being best. And that’s a long-term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-demarco/in-the-best-organizations-the-short-term-is-not-the-only-thing-that/)

[Tom DeMarco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-demarco/)

> [“Although your staff may be exposed to the message “work longer and harder” while they’re at the office, they’re getting a very different message…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-demarco/although-your-staff-may-be-exposed-to-the-message-work-longer-and/)

[Tom DeMarco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-demarco/)

> [Computer system analysis is like child-rearing; you can do grievous damage, but you cannot ensure success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-demarco/computer-system-analysis-is-like-child-rearing-you-can-do-grievous/)

[Tom DeMarco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-demarco/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busy-work/tom-demarco/#itemlist",
            "name": "1 Busy work Quotes By Tom DeMarco",
            "numberOfItems": 1,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Organizational busy work tends to expand to fill the working day.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Tom DeMarco"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-demarco/organizational-busy-work-tends-to-expand-to-fill-the-working-day/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b5/tom-demarco-12134_busy_organizational-busy-work-tends-to-expand_1231066.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b5/tom-demarco-12134_busy_organizational-busy-work-tends-to-expand_1231066.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b5/tom-demarco-12134_busy_organizational-busy-work-tends-to-expand_1231066.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Organizational busy work tends to expand to fill the working day.” — Tom DeMarco",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busy-work/tom-demarco/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busy-work/tom-demarco/",
            "name": "Busy work Quotes by Tom DeMarco",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busy-work/tom-demarco/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b5/tom-demarco-12134_busy_organizational-busy-work-tends-to-expand_1231066.png"
            },
            "description": "1 Busy work quotes by Tom DeMarco. Plus more from Tom DeMarco and more Busy work sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busy-work/tom-demarco/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busy-work/tom-demarco/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Busy Work",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busy-work/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Tom DeMarco",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busy-work/tom-demarco/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```