#52 - Book "The Mythical Man Month" written by Frederick Brooks Jr.

Imagine a common scenario during the lifecycle of a large project: with each passing month, the project seems increasingly far from the end. A natural solution would be to increase the number of staff, correct? According to the book "The mythical Man Month", written by Frederick Brooks Jr. in 1975, the right answer is no.

The author refers in particular to software projects. One of the points argued in the book is this paradox, between the increase in manpower and the decrease in the speed of progress of a project. This is mainly due to the fact that by increasing the number of team members, the time needed for internal communications will delay the activities that are essential for the real progress of the project.

The book was written over 40 years ago, but it is still frequently quoted today, making it a classic in this category. It is interesting to note that companies in different sectors such as technology and finance, among others, are restructuring their teams in a more compact and multidisciplinary approach, in order to optimize operations. This new structure, sometimes called "squads" or "tribes", has fundamental points very similar to the concepts argued in the book. The author also insists on the fact that in addition to having a compact team, mastery of execution is mandatory to achieve success in a project.