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Look, I read it and loved it 25 hyears ago. Fred Brooks wrote that book when they were programming IBM operating systems in assembly language. Times have real
by wewewedxfgdf 6mo ago
Look, I read it and loved it 25 hyears ago.
Fred Brooks wrote that book when they were programming IBM operating systems in assembly language.
Times have really, really changed - do not pay attention to the messages of this book unless for historical fun.
- yellowapple 6mo agoThe lessons in that book have broadly held true for nearly every single one of my employers throughout the entirety of my career.
- gaigalas 6mo agoOur field is full of vague, terrible opinions and useless advice. Arrogant people that think they're better than others. That book isn't, it's built from humility and a rare bright light in this god forsaken field.
- zephen 6mo agoThe book is good. As you say, the author, Fred Brooks, is not at all arrogant. Martin Fowler, the author of the blog, may be a bit different than that.
- CreepGin 6mo agoIMHO, Brooks's Law applies more today than ever.
- linsomniac 6mo agoI was half expecting Fowler to tie it in to right-sizing agent teams.
- freetime2 6mo agoIndeed a lot of things have changed. A worthwhile exercise is to read the book, contemplate how things have changed, and try to map lessons from the book onto modern technology and organizational practices. A LOT of the core principles are still relevant IMO, even if many of the implementation details are not.
- janalsncm 6mo agoYour comment and the OP both mention some things that are outdated about the book. What are those things?
- HarHarVeryFunny 6mo agoSo men and months have suddenly become fungible ? You should tell these AI companies and we could have AGI tomorrow if only they would throw a few thousand more men on the project. Or perhaps today's men are coding agents? You can spin up as many agents as you care to, so asymptotically any project should be completable in zero time, regardless of complexity.