Carnegie Mellon University cmu-wordmark

Acquisition Archetypes: Brooks' Law

• SEI Report
By
This April 2009 whitepaper focuses on the problems of underspending, which can result in funds being shifted from one acquisition program to another.
Publisher

Software Engineering Institute

Topic or Tag

Abstract

One in a series of short papers on acquisition patterns of failure.

What happens when a program chooses to ignore Brooks' Law? This archetype explains the dynamics behind Brooks' Law and why it applies to most programs.

SHARE
Download PDF
Part of a Collection

Patterns of Failure: Acquisition Archetypes
Cite This SEI Report

Levine, L., & Novak, W. (2009, October 15). Acquisition Archetypes: Brooks' Law. Retrieved September 17, 2026, from https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/acquisition-archetypes-brooks-law/.

@techreport{levine_2009,
author={Levine, Linda and Novak, William},
title={Acquisition Archetypes: Brooks' Law},
month={Oct},
year={2009},
institution={Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University},
url={https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/acquisition-archetypes-brooks-law/},
note={Accessed: 2026-Sep-17}
}

Levine, Linda, and William Novak. "Acquisition Archetypes: Brooks' Law." Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. Software Engineering Institute, October 15, 2009. https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/acquisition-archetypes-brooks-law/.

L. Levine, and W. Novak, "Acquisition Archetypes: Brooks' Law," Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. Software Engineering Institute, 15-Oct-2009 [Online]. Available: https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/acquisition-archetypes-brooks-law/. [Accessed: 17-Sep-2026].

Levine, Linda, and William Novak. "Acquisition Archetypes: Brooks' Law." Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Software Engineering Institute, 15 Oct. 2009. https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/acquisition-archetypes-brooks-law/. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

Levine, Linda; & Novak, William. Acquisition Archetypes: Brooks' Law. Software Engineering Institute. 2009. https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/acquisition-archetypes-brooks-law/

Ask a question about this SEI Report