Adam Smith vs. Fred Brooks
It seems to me much of the two essays, Surgical Team and Mythical Man Month in Fred Brooks important work are elaborations on Adam Smith’s theories of Specialisation and Division of Labour and production line optimisation but applied specifically to software development. Which is excellent and worthwhile cause; as software engineering still lacks the rigour associated with other engineering professions.
I need to re-read both the great men’s works but I think there is millage in applying more of Adam Smith’s principles to software engineering.
See:
July 9th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
I’ve been thinking about Economics and Software Engineering too - Seemed to me when I read Keynes’ “The Economic Consequences of the Peace” that his re evaluation of classical economics and questioning of accepted wisdom (which by his day basically distilled and over simplified Smith) could also apply to S/W Eng and “Big Design Up Front” adherents:
“But, most important of all, he regarded this state of affairs as normal, certain, and permanent, except in the direction of further improvement, and any deviation from it as aberrant, scandalous and avoidable.” The Economic Consequences of the Peace, pp.61-62
Watch out for an essay on Agile Architecture using this quote and many more when I get a spare second to write it…
Oh, and BTW, did I mention my great great grandfather was from Kirkaldy?
May 12th, 2008 at 9:21 am
I’m not sure that the two are talking about the same thing. The difference I think is that software development is a process of creation, not manufacture. It is inherently creative and akin to new product development not product manufacture.
Divison of labour and specialisation can occur in a manufacturing environment (to some degree) since the desired outcome (replicating a pre-designed product) is known at the outset. When you are creating something new, you do not know what the end product will be, and the creative process requires a great deal of trial and error.
For software, manufacture is the replication of CD’s or more commonly today, the replication of bytes downloaded over the internet. These are mechanical processes that do not require people. The part of the process conducted by people is the creative design phase. A computer program is a design and programmers create new designs and new products.
Normaly design studios contain a few very highly skilled individuals who are suported by a number of assistants. I think it is this that Fred Brooks is eluding to in his idea of a Surgical team.