Ben Allfree :: Painless Programming

I tripped across this link the other day. It describes my thinking about software design:

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan

Now what’s interesting is that everyone will agree to those statements. But there is a gap between those who say it and those who do it. I help many clients who agree in principle to the values above, but practice a structured and rigid approach. The conversation usually goes like this:

Me: I value working software over documentation
Them: Me to. That’s why I’ve drafted this document to be sure we have working software.

Me: I work closely with you on an hourly basis rather than attempting to construct a legal contract that doesn’t even represent how custom software gets built.
Them: Wonderful, love it. Now I just need you to promise to deliver this rigid set of requirements for this rigid price.

Me: I design software that is fluid so you can respond to changes in the marketplace. You can’t plan that.
Them: I totally agree. This 100-page document predicts those changes so we can get a jump on things.

Two things are true about a prospective client who wants to build an Internet startup without using Agile:

1) I can’t help them
2) The project will fail

It’s a harsh statement, yes, but it’s not my opinion. It is fact collected from working with many Internet startups and seeing what works and what doesn’t.

Please, please, let me help your next project succeed.