Justifying Resources through the DRED: How to Repeal Brooks's Law

Brooks’s Law says: "(A)dding manpower to a late software project makes it later."

Although Brooks himself called his law an "outrageous simplification,” there is some truth in it. In some types of work, adding resources may delay completion. But there are also many activities whose durations can be compressed by added resources. Such activities are said to be resource elastic.

Measuring an activity’s resource elasticity is both important and tricky. The technique I have used on consulting assignments is the doubled resource estimated duration, or the DRED. The new post on my blog shows the potential value of this technique and how to apply it.

Fraternally in project management,

Steve the Bajan