The Laws of IT Physics

As found in Congressional testimony titled "Actions to Avoid 'IT' Train-wrecks: An Agenda for Change," by Norm. V. Brown, Executive Director, Center for Program Transformation.

1. Planning is a continuous process, not a one-time event.
   
2. Complexity kills IT projects since defects and security vulnerabilities increase nonlinearly with increased complexity.
   
3. Schedules and project chaos create Event Horizons, from which a project cannot recover.
   
4. The initial requirements for any large system will be incomplete, independent of the resources expended to develop them.
   
5. Unvalidated requirements pave the road to project failure.
   
6. You can’t manage what you can’t see.
   
7. Not controlling the right things assures failure.
   
8. Poor defect management causes high rework and leads to project failure.
   
9. Unknown and untreated vulnerabilities originating in ineffectually implemented Processes destroy IT projects.
   
10. Development Contractors will do what is in their financial interest, and government organizations may be led toward a project Event Horizon.
    
11. Thoughtful, knowledgeable, committed people operating as a team are critical to IT Project Success.

The testimony contains corollaries and much further discussion.