Which law states that the final portion of a task tends to take longer than expected?

Which law states that the final portion of a task tends to take longer than expected?

• A. Putt's Law
• B. Illich's Law
• C. Hofstadter's Law
• D. Laborit's Law

Answer: (C)

Hofstadter's Law captures a common experience in planning: the final portion of a task always ends up taking longer than you expect, even when you account for that very tendency. This name is used to remind us that estimates are often optimistic, and small, late-stage issues—like debugging, integration, or catching edge cases—can compound and stretch the schedule. That’s exactly the scenario described: the tail end of work tends to extend beyond our initial timeline. Other named laws describe different ideas about technology, work, or organization, not the specific timing quirk of finishing a task, so they don’t fit the prompt as neatly.

Hofstadter's Law captures a common experience in planning: the final portion of a task always ends up taking longer than you expect, even when you account for that very tendency. This name is used to remind us that estimates are often optimistic, and small, late-stage issues—like debugging, integration, or catching edge cases—can compound and stretch the schedule. That’s exactly the scenario described: the tail end of work tends to extend beyond our initial timeline.

Other named laws describe different ideas about technology, work, or organization, not the specific timing quirk of finishing a task, so they don’t fit the prompt as neatly.