The more you focus on control, the more likely you're working on a project that's striving to deliver something of relatively minor value. Tom DeMarco More Quotes by Tom DeMarco More Quotes From Tom DeMarco Computer system analysis is like child-rearing; you can do grievous damage, but you cannot ensure success. Tom DeMarco damage analysis children Get the right people. Then no matter what all else you might do wrong after that, the people will save you. That's what management is all about. Tom DeMarco team leader people You can't control what you can't measure Tom DeMarco There are a million ways to lose a work day, but not even a single way to get one back. Tom DeMarco live-life procrastination inspiring The manager's function is not to make people work, but to make it possible for people to work. Tom DeMarco working-it function people Visual supervision is a joke for development workers. Visual supervision is for prisoners. Tom DeMarco supervision prisoner development If you find yourself concentrating on the technology rather than the sociology, you're like the vaudeville character who loses his keys on a dark street and looks for them on the adjacent street because, as he explains, "The light is better there." Tom DeMarco technology dark character The purpose of a team is not goal attainment but goal alignment. Tom DeMarco team purpose goal The pathology of setting a deadline to the earliest articulable date essentially guarantees that the schedule will be missed. Tom DeMarco guarantees-that pathology schedules Organizational busy work tends to expand to fill the working day. Tom DeMarco busy-work organizational busy Quality is free, but only to those who are willing to pay heavily for it. Tom DeMarco testers quality pay Product quality has almost nothing to do with defects or their lack. Tom DeMarco programming bugs quality First law of Bad Management: If something isn't working, do more of it. Tom DeMarco management law firsts If nothing is declared unchangeable, then the organization will resist all change. Tom DeMarco unchangeable organization ifs Training is practice doing a new task much more slowly than an expert would do it. Tom DeMarco training practice experts Some of the most flowery praise you hear on the subject of teams is only hypocrisy. Managers learn to talk a good game about teams even when they're secretly threatened by the whole concept. Tom DeMarco team hypocrisy games What we are looking for is managers who are awake enough to alter the world as they find it, to make it harmonize with what they and their people are trying to accomplish. Tom DeMarco team leader people The fundamental response to change is not logical, but emotional. Tom DeMarco logical emotional fundamentals The QSM Software Almanac is an invaluable resource. It establishes a norm for software projects, including best of class, worst of class and averages. In addition, it profiles the state of the art of software construction and enhancement. I wish I'd had this wonderful reference book years ago. Tom DeMarco average book art
