Engineering is the application of scientific principles toward practical ends. If the engineering isn't practical, it's bad engineering.

The primary purpose of software estimation is not to predict a project's outcome; it is to determine whether a project's targets are realistic enough to allow the project to be controlled to meet them.

In software, the chain isn't as strong as its weakest link; it's as weak as all the weak links multiplied together.

Even when you have skilled, motivated, hard-working people, the wrong team structure can undercut their efforts instead of catapulting them to success. A poor team structure can increase development time, reduce quality, damage morale, increase turnover, and ultimately lead to project cancellation.

It's OK to figure out murder mysteries, but you shouldn't need to figure out code. You should be able to read it.

Trying to apply formal methods to all software projects is just as bad as trying to apply code-and-fix development to all projects.

It's better to wait for a productive programmer to become available than it is to wait for the first available programmer to become productive.