it doesn't contradict

Question:
Brooks says that adding people to a late project makes it even later (Brooks 1975). Some schedule estimation techniques seem to indicate that adding people to a project can shorten development time. Is this a contradiction? Why or why not?


In the era of business, time management is crucial. Every thing must follow specific schedules or deadlines. When dealing with projects it is much easier to finish it ahead of time to avoid rushing things. The core of the project plan is the project schedule which is used by the project manager to entrust people to the project and show the organization how the work will be performed.

Scheduling techniques doesn’t contradict the idea of Brooks simply because both statements are true. When working with projects we are normally used to work in teams than working by ourselves. That is why the more people who work in a project the more it shorten development time which is usually true by some cases. Why? Because there will be more ideas if there are lots of people working. Sometimes it is better to work on a project with many people on a team than on trying to build a project without any person you can ask for help because it will be much easier to estimate in order to create something that looks like a schedule. Adding people to a project can shorten development time.

On the other hand, adding people to a late project can somehow create tricky situation simply because you still need to orient them the flow of the project. It is also for the reason that each date in the schedule is estimated, and if those dates do not have the agreement of the people who are going to do the work, the schedules will almost certainly be inaccurate. These scenarios are the frequent reasons why some projects are postponed or even canceled.

That is why when working with projects, planning is indeed very important. As we move ahead we are likely to face more complex and difficult challenges. Some of these may involve the coordination of many different people and the completion of many tasks in a precise sequence. In a project and in a real scenario, people working in a plan either numerous number of member or just a small number it can still result to success if and only if the people working in it are competent and willing to complete projects on time. This is why we need to learn how to manage projects well.