1. © Ian Davis
2017 Spring
(c) Ian Davis

2. The Mythical Man Month Design Essays on Software EngineeringBy
Frederick P. Brooks, Jr
2017 Spring
(c) Ian Davis

3. The mythical man month
The man-month as a unit for measuring the size of job is a dangerous deceptive myth. It implies that people and months are interchangable.
It takes 9 months to have a child, no matter how many women are assigned.
Brooks law: Adding manpower to a late project makes it later
2017 Spring
(c) Ian Davis

4. A ship on the beach is a lighthouse to the sea
Moral: Learn from your own mistakes and from the mistakes of others
Dutch Proverb
2017 Spring
(c) Ian Davis

5. Good cooking takes time if you are made to wait it is to serve you better
Moral: Rushing things may be counter productive
Moral: Give people some time to excel
Menu in New Orleans
2017 Spring
(c) Ian Davis

6. Studies reveal large individual differences between high and low performers, often by an order of magnitude
Moral: Don’t assume everyone can do the same task in the same time
Moral: Always be asking how you can get 10 times more out of people by giving them tasks they are good at
Sackman, Erikson and Grant
2017 Spring
(c) Ian Davis

7. Reims Cathedral Guidebook
This great church is an incomparable work of art.
It was Jean d’Orbais who undoubtedly conceived the general plan of the building, a plan which was respected, at least in its essential elements, by his successors. This is one of the reasons for the extreme coherence and unity of the edifice.
Moral: Respect the architectural rules in place
Moral: Too many cooks making different soups spoil the broth
2017 Spring
(c) Ian Davis

8. Add a little to a little and there will be a big pile
Moral: You can go a long way with small steps
Moral: Small mistakes here, and small mistakes there, quickly add up to a big mess
Ovid
2017 Spring
(c) Ian Davis

9. The Second Systems Effect
An architects first work is spare and clean.
He works carefully and fearfully with great restraint.
As he designs he notes frills and embellishments
These ideas get stored away for next time.
When completed the architect has become confident in their demonstrated mastery.
The second system is the most dangerous ever designed
Fred Brooks
2017 Spring
(c) Ian Davis

10. He’ll sit here and say “Do this! Do that!” And nothing will happen
Moral: Talk is cheap
Moral: Have to be able to monitor progress
Moral: Not all who make promises keep them.
Moral: There are limits to power
Harry S Truman on Presidential Power
2017 Spring
(c) Ian Davis

11. Why did the Tower of Babel Fail?
They are just one people, and they all have the same language. If this is what they can do at the beginning, then nothing that they resolve to do will be impossible to them. Moral: Teams that communicate succeed. Moral: Teams that fail to communicate fail
Genesis 11
2017 Spring
(c) Ian Davis

12. Practice is the best of all instructors
Experience is a dear teacher, but fools will learn from no other Moral: You can learn more by doing than reading Moral: What you don’t learn might cost you
Publilus / Poor Richard’s Almanac
2017 Spring
(c) Ian Davis

13. The Documentary Hypothesis
Amid a wash of paper, a small number of documents become the critical pivots around which every project’s management resolves. This are a managers chief personal tools Moral: Know what is important and what is not. Moral: It is not the volume of paper that is important, but what is written on it.
2017 Spring
(c) Ian Davis

14. Plan to throw one away
It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all try something. Moral: An early start might not be helpful but not starting never is. Moral: Recognise your mistakes before they become costly ones.
Franklin D Roosevelt
2017 Spring
(c) Ian Davis

15. Sharp Tools A good workman is known by his tools
Moral: Don’t reinvent wheels
Moral: Knowing the tools can be as important as knowing the job
Proverb
2017 Spring
(c) Ian Davis

16. The Whole and the Parts
I can call spirits from the deep. Why so can I and so can any man, but do they come when you call Moral: Saying you’ll do something, and doing it are two very different things
Shakespeare
2017 Spring
(c) Ian Davis

17. Hatching a Catastrophe
How does a project get to be a year late? - One day at a time. Moral: Time management skills are central to successful software development Moral: Small slippages tend to become bigger ones Moral: Success has many friends, but failure is an orphan
2017 Spring
(c) Ian Davis

18. What we do not understand, we do not possess
Moral: Knowing must come before doing Moral: You can’t claim ownership of code you don’t understand Moral: Much of the challenge in design, is not the design but understanding how to design
Goethe
2017 Spring
(c) Ian Davis