Brooks's law
Source status: Source not yet verified by the archive.
Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.
In context
This law belongs with Murphy's Laws, where small assumptions, timing, and system complexity tend to turn into memorable failures.
Editorial note
Late projects have communication and onboarding costs, so adding people can reduce the time available to finish the work.
Practical example: A team near release assigns newcomers isolated follow-up work instead of interrupting every engineer on the critical path.
Reviewed ยท The Mythical Man-Month
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