Hofstadter's Law
whatis.com, December 5th, 2022
Hofstadter's law states that a project always takes longer than expected, even when the law is taken into account.
Simply put, time estimates for how long a project will take to complete always fall short of the actual time required to complete it.
The law holds true even when the time allotment is increased to compensate for the human tendency toward underestimation. In other words, the law still proves true even when you factor in the possibility that you may need more time to complete the project.
Hofstadter's law is frequently evoked in the context of IT and software development. It is particularly relevant to time management, productivity, project management and DevOps.