The Mythical Man-Month has gained something of a cult following over the years. The book was originally published in 1975, and describes the challenges, complexities, and techniques that defined computer science at the time.
This was the age of IBM, a truly unique company at the cutting edge of computer science that was about to make history. Frederick Phillips Brooks was working at IBM when he led his team through the set up and development of System/360, a family of mainframe computer systems that was the forerunner for many supercomputers developed in the following years. This experience was a turning point in both his personal and professional life, and in just a few years, he earned himself a name as one of the greatest computer scientists of all time.
The Mythical Man-Month is a nonfiction account of Brooks’ career, and describes the main theoretical and practical issues he faced in the IT industry, focusing in particular on software programming and team management. A great deal has changed in computer science since the book’s publication, and the technological landscape is now vastly different from the days when computers filled entire rooms, and were only available to large corporations and governments.
While not all of Brooks’ opinions have stood the test of time, and now may seem rather outdated, many still provide valuable insight for anyone working in the industry, or for anyone who is interested in learning more about computer science in general. His thoughts on the relationships between division of labour, performance, decision-making methods for product development, and the programmer’s role are supported by extensive data illustrated in each chapter.
