Frederick Brook reported his "law" for software development. This is a pragmatic observation of the situation found with many projects.
Situation: project behind schedule
Statement of law: Adding manpower to a late project only makes it later.
What often happens in business and government:
(1) The knee-jerk reaction of management is to throw money and people at the project to speed development.
(2) New people need to be trained in the problem, which takes people familiar with problem away from production.
(3) New workers are less efficient than experienced workers.
(4) Because there are increased numbers of people there need to be many additional lines of communication and greater complexity in scheduling.
(5) More workers often means more managers to supervisors, adding layers of complexity.
What is needed in this situation:
(1) a knowledgeable person in authority analyzes the situation
(2) the fact that the project will be late needs to be accepted
(3) the emphasis should be on problem analysis followed by a strategy for resolution
(4) one strategy is to divide and conquer, with larger problems divided then addressed by focused workgroups
Adding resources to a project is not always detrimental, especially if the project was underfunded or had less skilled workers. Adding sufficient resources and expertise can improve performance.
