Summary: The fractal dimension of a software project is roughly 2 or 3. :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractal_dimension https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractal

Summary: The fractal dimension of a software project is roughly 2 or 3. :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractal_dimension https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractal_dimension Now, if you think about that metaphor for a while you may find value in seeing: (a) the metaphor doesn't really fit intuitively because software projects are often charting new ground, not zooming in on a predefined complex problem (b) the metaphor is not too bad of an intuitive explanation -- you learn more about what is really needed as you get closer to the details.