Article View: comp.arch
Article #13138Re: Architect's Trap (Mythical-Person months, wrong!)
From: eugene
Date: Wed, 04 Mar 1987 17:07
Date: Wed, 04 Mar 1987 17:07
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2089 bytes
In article <101200003@datacube> dje@datacube.UUCP writes:
>
>"The Mythical Man-Month" (author forgotten) is a book based on this
>concept.
>
>The author's solution: Design it right the first time. Then go on
>to new product. I agree with him. You can always design something
>'better' given another chance. The great designs are usually done
>right the first time.
>
> Dave Erickson
The author is Fred Brooks, Jr., the chair at North Carolina, publisher:
%I Addison-Wesley
%D 1975
YOUR "author's solution" is wrong. He recognized we can't do things
right the first time. Unix was not done completely right the first
time. Brooks said many things, but not this. He said among other
things:
Prepare to throw one away
and
Adding manpower to a late project will make it later.
I think he was also one of the first to coin the word "prototype" with
respect to software. I suggest your buy the book. It's inexpensive,
and sadly, one of the better works of the field (we have not learned
much since then).
Isn't hindsight wonderful? (Not my quote)
From the Rock of Ages Home for Retired Hackers:
--eugene miya
NASA Ames Research Center
eugene@ames-aurora.ARPA
"You trust the `reply' command with all those different mailers out there?"
"Send mail, avoid follow-ups. If enough, I'll summarize."
{hplabs,hao,ihnp4,decwrl,allegra,tektronix,menlo70}!ames!aurora!eugene
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Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!utgpu!water!watnot!watmath!clyde!cbatt!ihnp4!ptsfa!lll-lcc!styx!ames!pioneer!eugene From: eugene@pioneer.UUCP Newsgroups: comp.arch Subject: Re: Architect's Trap (Mythical-Person months, wrong!) Message-ID: <522@ames.UUCP> Date: Wed, 4-Mar-87 12:07:11 EST Article-I.D.: ames.522 Posted: Wed Mar 4 12:07:11 1987 Date-Received: Fri, 6-Mar-87 06:05:35 EST References: <1400@ncr-sd.SanDiego.NCR.COM> <101200003@datacube> Sender: usenet@ames.UUCP Reply-To: eugene@pioneer.UUCP (Eugene Miya N.) Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. Lines: 40