Software Myths

Many causes of a software affliction can be traced to a mythology that arose during the early history of software development. Unlike ancient myths than often provide human lessons well worth heeding, software myths propagated misinformation and confusion. Software myths had a number of attributes that made them insidious; for instance, they appeared to be reasonable statements of fact (sometimes containing elements of truth), they has an intuitive feel, and they were often promulgated by experienced practitioners who "knew the score."
Today, most knowledgeable professionals recognize myths for what they are misleading attitudes that have caused serious problems for managers and technical people alike. However, old attitudes and habits are difficult to modify, and remnants of software myths are still believed.