The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering 1st Paperback Edition

by Frederick Phillips Brooks (Author)

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Addison-Wesley; 1st Paperback Edition (January 1, 1975)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 195 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0201006502
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0201006506
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.7 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.5 x 6 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #506,568 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #433 in Software Design & Engineering
- #790 in Business Management (Books)
- #984 in Software Development (Books)

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50 ratings

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Frank Guest

Most Important Book for any Systems Designer or Programmer

Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2022

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While this book was written back in the first generation of big mainframes for big business, its concepts are just as applicable today, and possibly even more so, as we become more concentrated on widespread networks that use computing devices almost constantly in our daily lives. System designers and programmers alike should read and heed.

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Cindy

Still relevant in large old dinosaur companies

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2020

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A lot of the content is still relevant, and I can sympathize with the author. This is a classic that everyone should read at some point in their software engineering career.

Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2017

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A fantastic read; the examples are a little dated but the message is exemplary and relevant. Frankly, this might be the most excellent piece of software engineering literature in existence.

It is dense, every sentence is necessary and relevant. The allusions, metaphors, and examples all help to paint and SHOW not TELL the author's ideas.

A cross between literary masterpiece and dialogue about software engineering, this novel will stand the test of time.

6 people found this helpful

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A good, undying, informative, inspiring and enjoyable read!

Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2010

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I learned by my own mistakes the meaning of the expression, "You can pay me now or pay me later." There are few or sometimes no short-cuts in software or hardware development or engineering, or electronics in general. Fred Brooks, best known as the "father of the IBM System 360," and after 30 years still holds the title of the most influential book on software project management, likened it to pregnancy. He said you can add all the women you want "to the project" and still, it will take nine months! That's why, in managing software development projects, I learned to spend ample time with the software developers beforehand. Otherwise, I would inevitably spend the time with them afterwards. I was the one knowing the design. I had the "big picture" that needed to be communicated to them.

In his book, Brooks described the foibles of the early design teams and programming at IBM. From his own mistakes, he came up with snappy principles like "If you don't have time to do it right the first time, when will you find time to do it over?" He also coined what became known as the "Second-System Approach," which basically said "by the time you finish developing a system, you know what you should have done"--therefore, throw it away and start from scratch again. He identified the corruptible optimism of good intentions that truly but erroneously believed, for most of the project, that the work was 90% done or that debugging was 99% done most of the time. He insisted, "Ask whenever there's a doubt. NEVER assume anything."

This book is filled with timeless development advice by a master from a previous age. The advice, however, is as valuable now as it was then.

A good, undying, informative, inspiring and enjoyable read!

2 people found this helpful

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BW

Easy read, not technical

Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2014

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This book is ideal for anyone new to programming, supervising programming, or managing development projects. You don't have to be a programmer to understand it. If you are hiring developers to work for you, this will really help you understand "how projects work" so you can work well with your employees!

One person found this helpful

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Brandon M.

Must-read for anyone in software development. Some essays are ...

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2016

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Must-read for anyone in software development. Some essays are antiquated, but there is a lot of value in some of the lessons about velocity, team structure, and interactions with business stakeholders.

One person found this helpful

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d33pm1nd

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2016

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thanks!!

One person found this helpful

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Joshua Lacy

Would Recommend

Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2016

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Good book, very useful information. I how it was written as essays as the author learned more.

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Sohnee

Utterly Brilliant - Why Have We Ignored It For So Long

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 27, 2014

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This book is amazing, not just because of the astute observations Fred Brooks draws from experiences on projects he worked on, but also because we're still making the same mistakes so many decades later. Asides for a recommendation to move to microfiche, which indicates how long ago this book was written (and it was a fair suggestion at the time), this book is pure gold.

One person found this helpful

guy newcombe

Read this book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 16, 2021

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Brilliant. Timeless.

Török Viktor

Five stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 12, 2015

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One of the best books about software engineering with a nice retro feeling.Good read!

Melanie

Zurecht ein Klassiker

Reviewed in Germany on October 24, 2018

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Macht auch heute noch Spaß zu lesen und ist sehr hilfreich, wenn man einmal Softwareprojekte organisieren möchte. Konnte man gut lesen und die Anekdoten sind schön!

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Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Reviewed in Canada on June 23, 2017

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one of the best books

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