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"Mythical Man-Month" Supposedly Busted By MIT Startup

An anonymous reader writes "We all know about the Mythical Man-Month, the argument that adding more programmers to a software project just makes it later and later. A Linux startup out of MIT claims to have busted the myth, using an MIT holiday month to hire 20 college student interns to get all their work done and quadrupling its productivity."

7 of 231 comments (clear)

  1. Where am I? Digg? by noisebar · · Score: 5, Funny

    How did this kind of crap show up on Slashdot?

  2. Re:Totally misses the point by startled · · Score: 5, Funny

    They all worked on small projects. Where the mythical man-month applies is in the combined effort on a large, sufficiently complex project.

    You're just quibbling about details. If they can get 40 interns to do 40 small problems quickly, they can certainly get 40 interns to do 10 large problems even faster. Just like 9 pregnant women can make a baby in one month. Or they can keep the original 9 month schedule, but pool their efforts to create one super-huge baby.

  3. 9 women and the baby by teknikl · · Score: 4, Funny

    Is this the same rule as "9 women can't make a baby in 1 month"? I tried to explain the rule to our HR lady and it didn't go over really well with her.

  4. Re:!MMM by HighJack · · Score: 5, Funny

    So, 198% of game developers are morons?

  5. Re:Totally misses the point by martin-boundary · · Score: 4, Funny

    Or they can keep the original 9 month schedule, but pool their efforts to create one super-huge baby.

    And that, folks, is what happens when you cross the streams. Never cross the streams!

  6. Re:!MMM by Tobenisstinky · · Score: 5, Funny

    Vader: I am disappointed with your apparent lack of progress.
    Imperial Deathstar Commander in charge of construction: But my men are already working 24hrs a day!
    Vader: I want you to double your efforts!
    Imperial Deathstar Commander in charge of construction: You want us to work 48hrs a day?
    Vader: Listen, I'm a sadist not a mathematician!

    (Mad Magazine's spoof on Return of the Jedi)

    --
    wha'? where am i?
  7. Re:!MMM by raehl · · Score: 4, Funny

    So, 198% of game developers are morons?

    Spoken like a game developer. Anyone with a clue knows that -37% of game developers are morons.