A classic by Fred Brooks, originally written in 1986 (this copy may have been updated since then):
Brooks-NoSilverBullet.pdf (260.0 KB)
Brooks-NoSilverBullet-original.pdf (788.3 KB)
I have been researching the concept of “essential vs accidental complexity” and this is where I ended up. Apparently, these ideas go back to Aristotle:
Following Aristotle, I divide them into essence−the difficulties inherent in the nature of the software−and accidents−those difficulties that today attend its production but that are not inherent.