Ninety-Ninety Rule

A rule for tracking computer programming development time.

The full statement of the rule is, "The first 90% of the code accounts for the first 90% of the development time. The remaining 10% of the code accounts for the other 90% of the development time."

The rule simultaneously emphasizes two important points in software development. The first is that for almost any product, most of the development time will be used on relatively small but difficult sections of the code. The second is that the first point often leads to extremely optimistic project schedules.

The ultimate lesson to learn from this rule is that the amount of the project that is completed is NOT tied to the amount of code completed, and that substituting one for the other can be disastrous.

The ninety-ninety rule is often mistaken for a typo, with users assuming that the first 90% of code should correspond to the first 10% of time; while this is logically correct, it is NOT the original aphorism.

A: "This stupid ten-line function is somehow crashing on one out of every 100 calls and nobody has a clue how to fix it. We've got a week left in the schedule and haven't even fully identified the problem."

B: "Ninety-Ninety Rule. You should have expected from the start that something like this would come up."

by DubbaEwwTeeEff November 3, 2009

pigsty-nine

When two police vehicles are parked next to each other, facing in opposite directions, so the drivers can talk. Short for "pig sixty-nine."

Dude, I was flying around the corner and there was a cop. I thought I was nailed. But they weren't clockin'. There were just two of 'em in a pigsty-nine eating donuts.

by 2060 May 21, 2011

doing ninety

Going fast, speeding up

We were doing ninety up the road

by Taylor FTW September 2, 2012

knocky nine doors

A game that’s been around since the 1800s. You must knock on someone’s door, then run away, preferably to the next person’s door. The goal is to do nine doors without stopping or getting caught. To make it harder, on the first door, knock once. On the second, knock twice. On the third, knock thrice, all the way until the ninth, when you knock nine times.

There is also a variation on this game called “Rocky Nine Doors”. The house needs to have a cabbage patch for this to work. You need to throw a rock on the roof then hide in the cabbages. The thrills you get from seeing the victim go out and shout while you are hiding in the cabbages right next to them are amazing.

Let’s play Knocky Nine Doors! *knocks on door* Victim: GIT ‘ERE, BUSTA’! STOP KNICK-KNOCKING ON ME DOOR BEFORE I SLAP YOUR WEE BOOTY!

by I Am An Existent Object October 20, 2019

Ninestein

Showing the patience of a saint when dealing with wayward, and indeed, mental women

Did you read about that bloke on the football forum whose woman was a right nutter. Her husband must be a real Ninestein not to have pasted by now

by Blackbeard's Bo'son March 20, 2008

NHL Ninetysex

You let a girl have sex with you while you are playing NHL 96 on Sega Genesis.

I flaked on going out with my friends last night and had NHL Ninetysex instead. It was awesome, I was the Hartford Whalers and beat the LA Kings while my girl was on top.

by Party Crashers August 22, 2009

Niner-niner

When you say something so stupid, that your friends question your mental stability.

“People in Denmark speak Denmarkese right?”

“Oh my god, you’re a fucking niner-niner”

by yungjonasty November 11, 2020