Computing (FOLDOC) dictionary
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programming "Adding manpower to a late software project
makes it later" - a result of the fact that the expected
advantage from splitting work among N programmers is O(N)
(that is, proportional to N), but the complexity and
communications cost associated with coordinating and then
merging their work is O(N^2) (that is, proportional to the
square of N).
The quote is from Fred Brooks, a manager of
IBM's
OS/360The myth in question has been most tersely expressed as
"Programmer time is fungible" and Brooks established
conclusively that it is not. Hackers have never forgotten his
(1996-09-17)