 Bernardo A. Huberman
and Dennis M. Wilkinson
Abstract
We present a dynamical theory of complex cooperative projects such
as software development efforts or large engineering designs
comprising concurrent and interrelated tasks. The model accounts
for temporal fluctuations both in task performance and in the interactions
between related tasks. We show that as the system size increases,
so does the average completion time. Also, for fixed system size,
the dynamics of individual project realizations can exhibit large
deviations from the average when fluctuations increase past a threshold, causing long delays in completion times. This effect
is
in agreement with empirical observations, and can be mitigated by
arranging projects in a hierarchical or modular structure.
PDF
|
printable version
