...when fits of creativity run strong, more than one programmer or writer has been known to abandon the desktop for the more spacious floor.

A little retrospection shows that although many fine, useful software systems have been designed by committees and built as part of multipart projects, those software systems that have excited passionate fans are those that are the products of one or a few designing minds, great designers.

Nine people can't make a baby in a month.

Systematically identity top designers as early as possible. The best are often not the most experienced.

I have never seen an experienced programmer who routinely made detailed flow charts before beginning to write programs.

We tend to blame the physical media for most of our implementation difficulties; for the media are not "ours" in the way the ideas are, and our pride colors our judgement.

Software and hardware design is less different than software designers think, but more different than hardware designers think.