No Silver Bullet—Essence and Accident in Software Engineering

Adam Bowen will be discussing "No Silver Bullet—Essence and Accident in Software Engineering (http://worrydream.com/refs/Brooks-NoSilverBullet.pdf)" by Turing Award winner Frederick P. Brooks, Jr.

The article begins with a quote: "There is no single development, in either technology or management technique, which by itself promises even one order-of-magnitude improvement within a decade in productivity, in reliability, in simplicity." We'll discuss what the meaning of "essence" and "accident" in software engineering, and where we should focus our efforts for maximum impact as we design and build software.