Software Management Lessons from the 1960s

Larry Garfield

Friday 17 March 2017 from 13:00 to 13:50

Talk in English - US at Midwest PHP 2017
Short URL: https://joind.in/talk/6f3a4 (QR-Code (opens in new window))

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"The Mythical Man-month" is one of the seminal books in the field of software project management. It was written in 1975, based on experience from the 1960s. Is it even still relevant?

Turns out, it is. Technology may have changed dramatically but people have not. Managing software projects is about managing people, not bits, and creative people engaged in intellectual endeavors are notoriously hard to predict and manage. (Just ask my project manager.)

Fortunately, many of the lessons-learned Brooks' presents are still relevant today. Some are directly applicable ("adding people to a late project makes it later") while others are valid with a little interpretation. Still others fly in the face of conventional wisdom. What can we learn from that?

This session will present a modern overview of the ideas presented by Brooks and a look at what we can still learn from them even today. Along the way we'll keep an eye on Open Source, and what lessons we may have forgotten.

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Aaron Holbrook at 13:31 on 17 Mar 2017

Great talk Larry, great insights, nice to not be always rediscovering the wheel!

Nic Steenhout at 13:47 on 17 Mar 2017

Great delivery of great content. Larry, you said last night your talk was a book review. It's much more than that.

Jeremiah Sandahl at 13:57 on 17 Mar 2017

I came in expecting a great session and was blown away by the great lecture. I wasn't expecting to hear about system architecture and design. I wish this was the first course I took in programming or the first keynote of the conference. I would just love to hear it again. Not a single dull moment.

Anonymous at 14:03 on 17 Mar 2017

A great distillation of the Mythical Man-month and guidance and what works or doesn't.

Brian Fenton at 14:13 on 17 Mar 2017

Tons of information organized in a logical way and delivered well. Mustn't forget the lessons of the past, but learn and build upon them. Good slide content too, will definitely review them a few times.

Dave Buchanan at 14:35 on 17 Mar 2017

Very insightful and historical talk. Lots of takeaways and easily digestable! The implementer versus architect slides were the most applicable to me. Thanks!

Vesna Vuynovich Kovach at 19:39 on 24 Mar 2017

Wonderful talk. Keynote worthy!