Design of Design - Chapter 6

The author begins this chapter by stating that there are 2 major changes that have happened to design in the last century. These changes are that design is now a team effort, and that designers collaborate with telecommunications. He ponders this as he gives a few examples from designers of past centuries. Many great designs have been done by one mind, or two minds as the exception. He likens the two-mind design to marriage.
Brooks gives two reasons for this shift to multiple designers. First is the increase in technological sophistication. With more sophistication, it becomes more and more difficult for one person to manage all of the design's complexities. The second reason would be to get the designed product out to market faster. A faster product to market means more profit while everyone else catches up.
The author then discusses the costs of collaboration. He says that there is a cost for work partitioning, learning and teaching, communication, and change control. He points out that change control is a substantial cost.
Brooks states that the most important concept in design is integrity, and he again alludes to designs of the past coming from one or two minds. So, he poses the question "How do you get conceptual integrity in a team design?" He says that academic writers suggest that the way to achieve this integrity is by interdisciplinary negotiations. Brooks says that this implies that the team be composed of peers that negotiate until everyone is satisfied. But he quickly shoots this down as the cause of bloated products. He instead suggests that design projects appoint a single system architect to oversee the vision of the design. He also suggests a single user interface designer.