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The Mythical Man-Month: Anniversary Edition

Frederick P. Brooks Jr.

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Founder connections

  • Paul GrahamBook citation; edition not specified
    In Revenge of the Nerds, Graham cites Brooks’s account of the limits of adding programmers and says his own experience supports it. He does not name the anniversary edition.
    Source

Summary

Brooks uses his work on IBM’s System/360 and OS/360 to examine the management of large software projects. The essays discuss staffing, communication, design consistency and the risks of an overly ambitious second system. This anniversary edition keeps the original essays and adds later reflections, including No Silver Bullet and Brooks’s review of his earlier claims after twenty years.

  • SourceThe Mythical Man-Month — Addison-Wesley / InformIT · Description, Table of Contents and Preface; exact anniversary ISBN 9780201835953; original essays retained unchanged apart from trivial corrections

Why read it Our view

Useful when a software team grows or a project falls behind. Ask what work can run in parallel, what new staff need to learn, and who keeps the design consistent. Compare the original essays with Brooks’s later review rather than treating every claim as a fixed rule.