According to Brent Simmons the new version of the NetNewsWire has over 5,000 less lines of code than the previous one.
I love to delete code. It's the best thing about programming.
Dave Gray derrived some good points from Cambridge researcher Alan F. Blackwell's paper titled: Correction: A Picture is Worth 84.1 Words.
A 1997 study found that when people create visual diagrams, they use about 6 to 12 visual elements, or "nodes" to describe a system.
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A diagram with more then 13 components will probably not become integrated into people's consciousness as a mental model.
According to this article Complexity causes 50% of product returns.
Product developers, brought in to witness the struggles of average consumers, were astounded by the havoc they created.
No matter what your product is (a web site, or an MP3 player) it is always enlightening for an engineer to watch actual customers use the product.
Via svn