“First, one must perform perfectly. The computer resembles the magic of legend in this respect, too. If one character, one pause, of… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Computers Copy Share Image
“Years later, when I got to college, I learned about an important theory of psychology called Learned Helplessness, developed by Dr. Martin… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Depression Copy Share Image
“I will contend that conceptual integrity is the most important consideration in system design. It is better to have a system omit… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share Image
“Fifth, when schedule slippage is recognized, the natural (and traditional) response is to add manpower. Like dousing a fire with gasoline, this… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Fire Copy Share Image
“Third, enumerating the frequencies explicitly helps everyone recognize which decisions depend upon which user set properties. Even this sort of informal sensitivity… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Important decision 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 Programmers 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… — 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 Architecture 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 Imagination 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 Computers Copy Share Image
“Digital computers are themselves more complex than most things people build; they have very large numbers of states. This makes conceiving, describing,… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Complexity 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 Productivity 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 Discipline Copy Share Image
“Conceptual integrity does require that a system reflect a single philosophy and that the specification as seen by the user flow from… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Architecture 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 Art Copy Share Image
“The success of the scaling-up process depends upon the fact that the conceptual integrity of each piece has been radically improved—that the… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Architecture Copy Share Image
“For it to be successful, the architect must • remember that the builder has the inventive and creative responsibility for the implementation;… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Architecture Copy Share Image
“Today I am more convinced than ever. Conceptual integrity is central to product quality. Having a system architect is the most important… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Architecture 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 Programming 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… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Copy Share Image
“If there are n workers on a project, there are (n2–n)/2 interfaces across which there may be communication, and there are potentially… — Frederick P. Brooks Jr Architecture Copy Share Image
