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Brooks' Law states that adding more people to a late project makes it later_________

User Peter Hart
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Final answer:

Brooks' Law is a concept from software engineering that suggests adding more people to a delayed project could cause further delays due to increased onboarding and communication complexity.

Step-by-step explanation:

Brooks' Law is a principle in software engineering and project management which posits that adding additional personnel to a late software project will cause further delays. This law was formulated by Fred Brooks in his book 'The Mythical Man-Month' and is based on the observation that there is a ramp-up time needed for new team members to become productive, which can increase the total workload and lead to inefficiencies. Furthermore, the communication overhead increases as more people are added, which can further reduce the productivity of the team.

The reason behind Brooks' Law is that new team members require training and time to adapt to the project's intricacies. This takes time away from the other team members who have to mentor instead of working on project tasks. Additionally, the increase in team size can cause new communication channels to form, making it harder for everyone to stay on the same page. All of this can lead to increased complexity and potential for errors, which can ultimately result in the project being delayed even more.

User Rikkles
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