4th month, I hope annual
KREYA AND CROSS CREUM (SBIS electrician)
part x'3E

Myth work-month

" Mythical person-month or how software systems are being developed " is Frederick Brooks ' book on the management of software development projects, the central theme of which was that the introduction of new forces at late stages of development only delayed the deadline for project delivery. This idea became known as the Brooks Law. If the project is not timely, the addition of the labour force will delay it even further.

Let's try to think about the Brooks Law on CRAY-1 and the SIS Electronics.

On 28 August 1963, Mr. Thomas Watson Jr., head of IBM, realized that IBM Stretch computer had a higher price of 6, six million dollars higher, three times lower in speed. As a result, he issued a memorandum:

Last week Control Data had a press conference during which they officially announced their 6600 system. I understand that in the laboratory developing this system there are only 34 people, " including the janitor " . Of these, 14 are engineers and 4 are programmers, and only one person has a Ph.D., a relatively junior programmer. To the outsider, the laboratory appeared to cost conscious, hard working and highly motivated.

Contrasting this modest effort with our own vast development activities, I fail to understand why we have lost our industry leadership position by letting someone else offer the world's most powerful computer. At Jenny Lake, I think top priority should be given to a discussion as to what we are doing wrong and how we should go about changing it immediately.

Last week, Control Data held a press conference at which she officially announced the release of her 6,600 system. As far as I know, only 34 people are working in the laboratory where the system has been developed, including the cleaner. Of these, 14 are engineers, 4 are programmers, and only one has a PhD degree is a very young programmer. The visitor was impressed by the efficiency, attitude and motivation of the laboratory.

Comparing this very modest team with our own large team of developers, I can't understand why we lost our leadership by allowing someone else to offer the fastest computer in the world. At the Jenny Lake meeting, I think we're gonna have to discuss what we're doing wrong, and we need to change now.