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Engineering Leadership Handbook

Dunbar’s Number

Summary

Section titled “Summary”

Humans can maintain about 150 stable social relationships.

Origin

Section titled “Origin”

British anthropologist Robin Dunbar, 1990s.

Still Applicable?

Section titled “Still Applicable?”

Yes. Influences optimal team/org size and communication design.

Context Notes:

Section titled “Context Notes:”

Used in org design to determine when to split teams or units. Exceeding Dunbar’s number often results in decreased communication quality and cohesion. Many companies split business units or departments once they hit this threshold.