The Mythical Man-Month by Fred Brooks Still Holds Vital Insights
May 2, 2013
An article in The Observer titled Why Big IT Projects Always Go Wrong explores the impact of computer scientist Fred Brooks’ seminal book from 1975, The Mythical Man-Month. The book, comprised of essays on how to manage large software projects, is based on the lessons Brooks gleaned from his time at IBM producing OS/360 operating system. The project dragged on endlessly with IBM simply throwing more programmers at the problem, which Brooks eventually realized only added to the delays in finishing. This is due to the types of work involved in big software projects: the writing of computer code and the co-ordination of the work of all of the programmers. The more programmers, the more effort to co-ordinate. The article discusses evidence supporting Brook’s claim,
“Oxford researchers examined more than 1,400 big IT projects – comparing their budgets and estimated performance benefits with the actual costs and results. The average project cost $167m and the largest a whopping $33bn. The researchers’ sample drew heavily on US-based projects but found little difference between them and European projects. Likewise, they found little difference between private companies and public agencies. One in six had a cost overrun of 200%. The message is clear: if you run a big company or a government department and are contemplating a big IT product, ask yourself this question: can your company or your ministerial career survive if the project goes over budget by 40% or more, or if only 25-50% of the projected benefits are realised? If the answer is “no” go back to square one. And read Fred Brooks’ lovely book.”
The article cites one disastrous example in Levi Strauss’s attempt in 2003 to streamline its IT system with the aid of a team of consultants from Deloitte. Ultimately Levi Strauss was forced to close its three distribution centers in the US for a week, along with taking a charge against earnings of $192.5 million in 2008. Obviously while Brooks’ book has influenced the field of managing software projects, it has not become mainstream knowledge.
Chelsea Kerwin, May 02, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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