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…

— Tom DeMarco

“We have become so obsessed with getting rid of people who are burdened with the characterization overhead that we have ended up…

— 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…

— Tom DeMarco

Product quality has almost nothing to do with defects or their lack.

— Tom DeMarco

“Internal competition has the direct effect of making coaching difficult or impossible.”

— Tom DeMarco

“People under time pressure don’t work better—they just work faster.”

— Tom DeMarco

“The most obvious defensive management ploys are prescriptive Methodologies (“My people are too dumb to build systems without them” ) and technical…

— 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…

— 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…

— 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”

— Tom DeMarco

Training is practice doing a new task much more slowly than an expert would do it.

— 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…

— 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…

— 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…

— Tom DeMarco

Computer system analysis is like child-rearing; you can do grievous damage, but you cannot ensure success.

— Tom DeMarco

The pathology of setting a deadline to the earliest articulable date essentially guarantees that the schedule will be missed.

— Tom DeMarco

The purpose of a team is not goal attainment but goal alignment.

— Tom DeMarco

“The meeting wasn’t really necessary to convey status; there are many less wasteful ways to do that. The need that was being…

— Tom DeMarco

“Managers who inspire extraordinary loyalty from their people tend to be highly charismatic, humorous, good-looking, and tall. So, by all means, strive…

— Tom DeMarco

“Slackless organizations tend to be authoritarian. When efficiency is the principal goal, decision making can't be distributed. It has to be in…

— Tom DeMarco

Quality is free, but only to those who are willing to pay heavily for it.

— Tom DeMarco

“Think about cuisine: Most probably, your great-grandparents never encountered a market offering Chinese dumplings, Bombay lime pickle, lemongrass curry, tiramisu, and gnocci,…

— Tom DeMarco

“When the office environment is frustrating enough, people look for a place to hide out. They book the conference rooms or head…

— Tom DeMarco

“Rooms without a view are like prisons for the people who have to stay in them.”

— Tom DeMarco

“The project workers are the ones most familiar with the territory of the project. If a given direction doesn’t make sense to…

— Tom DeMarco