This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Just Another Dan (talk | contribs) at 09:10, 14 March 2004 (reword, tidy, check facts, etc...). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 09:10, 14 March 2004 by Just Another Dan (talk | contribs) (reword, tidy, check facts, etc...)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering is a classic book on software project management written by Fred Brooks.
Reflecting on his time at IBM managing the development of OS/360, Brooks recounts the mistakes made and lessons learned. One of the mistakes was the attempt to add more workers to a project falling behind schedule, in the hope of speeding development. His observation, known as Brooks's Law, was simple: "Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later."
Brooks also describes the second-system effect and advocates prototyping.
The book was first published in 1975. It was republished as an anniversary edition in 1995, adding the essay No Silver Bullet and commentary by the author.