tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10280668.post4640406531715187773..comments2023-09-22T06:05:17.495-05:00Comments on Brad Appleton's ACME Blog: The Majesty of the Mythical Man-MonthBrad Appletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136106921504315995noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10280668.post-86265613706111039782009-09-06T10:07:23.895-05:002009-09-06T10:07:23.895-05:00Professor Brooks was interviewed in August 2009 a...Professor Brooks was interviewed in August 2009 at Siggraph, discussing his thoughts about DESIGN OF DESIGN. Video can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbJqUCgTF9Q&NR=1Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11826809727572967059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10280668.post-89810496188872169812009-09-02T09:56:54.933-05:002009-09-02T09:56:54.933-05:00The Prophet Brooks has been shown time and again t...The Prophet Brooks has been shown time and again to have been just that, a prophet. As my field is information security, I might add that his observations are as true as ever but a bit less actionable now that large web services do not (and never will) have overall organization in full charge, no aristocracy still knows (or ever will again) how it all works, and we are past the point at which starting over is possible (hence the entropy accumulation phase is both permanent and, one should think, slowly accelerating much the way planets gravitationally grow).<br /><br />This may seem apocalyptic, but it is not in and of itself. It could be apocalyptic were some mix of entropy accumulation and concentration of risk (as the diversity of alternatives withers away) were to proceed for some time. As with an asteroid impact, it may only be a question of when, not if.<br /><br />Dan GeerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10280668.post-66384578216853132712009-08-04T11:13:35.816-05:002009-08-04T11:13:35.816-05:00I read Brooks' Mythical Man Month in the 1990&...I read Brooks' Mythical Man Month in the 1990's, and it struck me as one of the best discussions of the process of human endeavor, and what goes wrong when haste is applied to projects.<br /><br /> The key elements of Brooks' observations on projects in process are applicable far outside of software engineering. Any group endeavor needs thresholds, boundaries, vision, flexibility, and persistance. <br /><br />Brroks' observations reinforced my own belief in the idea of a group agreeing to have some level of autocracy by the designer, and most importantly, the idea of outside handlers knowing not to abridge the basic product's ability to eventually exist in a usable form by meddling with the schedule in an unintelligent manner. <br /><br />I'm not an engineer. I recommend this book enthusiastically.Eileen A. Brodiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15755750337175215845noreply@blogger.com