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The human tendency to underestimate the difficulty and scope of projects routinely plays havoc with scientific enter- prises.
H. L. Mencken (1880-1956)
Explanations exist; they have existed for all time; there is always a well-known solution to every human problem - neat, plausible, and wrong (Mencken, 1982).
Fundamental Principle of Projects
Time, Quality, Cost (or Faster, Better, Cheaper): We can- not maximize all three of these conditions simultaneously. Once any two are chosen, the third is automatically deter- mined (“pick two”) (Clayton, 2014).
Meskimen’s Law of Time
There is never enough time to do it right, but there is always enough time to do it over again (Hoover, 2007).
Clark’s Law of Project Time
Estimate the actual, realistic time required to finish a project as follows: Make your most generous estimate, assuming Murphy’s Law is in full effect. (2) Multiply by pi (Clark, 2014, 2016).
Human Nature/Ego Issues
The dark and absurd side of human nature, including the human ego, is the source of most career problems. This is why the cartoon “Dilbert” (Adams, 1989) is popular. Tech- nical problems are often easier to solve than problems with human beings.
Clark’s Law of Career Egos
Most career problems are caused by someone’s ego. Make sure it is not yours. Do a “self-ego-ectomy” and focus on the highest good (Clark, 2014, 2016).
Fred Followill,
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Geophysicist (Retired)
Nobody believes a theorist - save another theorist. Everybody believes an experimentalist - save another experimentalist (Followill, 1980).
Ego problems often rear their ugly heads when new ideas are published or otherwise presented to the technical com- munity at large.
The fundamental principle of projects (sometimes known as the time-cost-quality triangle) expresses the practical con- straints on projects, and it is routinely violated in projects of all kinds. Because there is no free lunch, every project has its trade-offs. However, it is easy to believe and proclaim to our sponsors that we are faster, better, and cheaper than our competitors. As Dirty Harry (Warner Bros., 1973) says, “A man’s gotta’ know his limitations.”
When I was a young scientist, I saw a “joke” poster about the “Six Phases of a Project” posted on the bulletin board of one of my senior colleagues (see Figure 1). As my career progressed, I realized that this was not a joke but a deadly serious admonition.
After years of watching countless projects and people being crushed in the gears of the six phases, I learned my lesson. When someone asks me to work on a project, I first assess the current phase of the project. If it is in Phase III or higher, I do my best to avoid working on the project. I have seen many innocent people blamed for project shortcomings to protect someone else (usually a manager) from looking bad.
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)
All truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed, Second, it is violently opposed, and Third, it is accepted as self-evident.
Howard Aiken,
American Computer Engineer and Mathematician (1900-1973)
Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you’ll have to ram them down peoples’ throats (Weiss, 1988).
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