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

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

A brute force solution that works is better than an elegant solution that doesn't work.

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

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.