Tom DeMarco and Barry Boehm. "The agile methods fray." Computer 35.6 (2002): 90-92.
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What we see in both software development and military operations is a tendency for the pendulum to swing back and forth between extremes. Yet in most cases, we need a balance between armor and discipline and between mobility and agility. Actually, though, I would say that the leaders in both the agile and plan-driven camps occupy various places in the responsible middle. It’s only the over-enthusiastic followers who overinterpret “discipline” and “agility” to unhealthy degrees.

— Barry Boehm

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "What we see in both software development and military operations is a tendency for the pendulum to swing back and forth between extremes. Yet in most cases, we need a balance between armor and discipline and between mobility and agility. Actually, though, I would say that the leaders in both the agile and plan-driven camps occupy various places in the responsible middle. It’s only the over-enthusiastic followers who overinterpret “discipline” and “agility” to unhealthy degrees." in the context of "Tom DeMarco and Barry Boehm. "The agile methods fray." Computer 35.6 (2002): 90-92." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Barry Boehm" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Barry Boehm

About Barry Boehm

Barry W. Boehm (May 16, 1935 – August 20, 2022) was an American software engineer, TRW Emeritus Professor of Software Engineering at the Computer Science Department of the University of Southern California, and known for his many contributions to software engineering.