MENTAL MODEL · M5675

Brooks' Law

BusinessHigh supportManagement

Included

Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

“Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.” Because the communication cost ($n(n-1)/2$) and learning cost of new members offset and exceed the productivity they bring.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

The trap of adding people. When a project is in trouble, the manager's instinct is to "add people," but this is usually poison. The correct approach is to cut features (reduce burden), postpone deadlines, or optimize existing processes, but not add people.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later. Because new members need training, and communication overhead grows quadratically with the number of people, it actually slows progress in the short term.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Practice this model in one real situation:

When a project is delayed, first diagnose the bottleneck rather than directly adding people
If you must add people, prioritize roles that can be modularized independently
Use documentation and clear interfaces to reduce communication costs.

Check to track your progress (stored locally)

Learning progress0%

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Source support: Explicit

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en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooks%27s_lawZH · Explicit
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