[EricH]

Many years ago, a standard question at the Kickoff was, "Why do we only get 6 weeks?" The answer was, "We're being nice to the rookies." Looking at this thread, replace "the rookies" with "everyone".

The explanation is that with a lot of time (7-8 weeks, say), there is a greater tendency to add features, improve, redesign if one little thing doesn't work. This can actually add to the headache.

Plus, there's this little rule that "Work expands to fill the time allotted." I rest my case.