“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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 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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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 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 afford $250,000… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share Image
“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 Image
“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 Image
“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 Image
“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 Image
“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 Image
“...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 Image
“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 Image
“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 Image
“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 Image
“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 Image
