# The 20 Software Engineering Laws

DevFeed: [The 20 Software Engineering Laws](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/the-20-software-engineering-laws-38691.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://newsletter.techworld-with-milan.com/p/the-20-software-engineering-laws>)

Author: Dr Milan Milanović

Published: 2026-04-23T15:01:23Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Tech World With Milan Newsletter](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/tech-world-with-milan-newsletter.md>)

Topics: [Software](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/software.md>), [Software Engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/software-engineering.md>), [Development](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/development.md>), [engineering-culture](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/engineering-culture.md>), [CAP theorem](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/cap-theorem.md>)

Tags: [cap-theorem](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/cap-theorem.md>), [conway-s-law](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/conway-s-law.md>), [development](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/development.md>), [engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/engineering.md>), [software](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/software.md>), [software-engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/software-engineering.md>)

## AI overview

A field guide to twenty software engineering laws, including Gall's Law, KISS, Conway's Law, Hyrum's Law, the CAP Theorem, Brooks's Law, and others. The article explains how these principles describe recurring behavior in software projects, systems, and teams.

## Source excerpt

A field guide to why software projects fail, systems rot, and teams slow down.