WaterfallModel
ThoughtStorms Wiki
Software development model (StrawMan?) which separates each phase of development into distinct time periods and allows communication between them by formal documents.
The obvious problem : when you start your BigUpFrontDesign initially, you're a long way from the final delivery and use of the product and lots can have changed in terms of your understanding and your users' requirements before then.
My comment there :
Tamo, it's a good article. I'd suggest that the every vaguely intelligent developer knows that the waterfall is a lousy way to make good software, but it survives because it's the easiest way to interface the software development process to the outside world. That's the tension. Agile makes better software but is hard to fit with the process that the customer expects.
In this sense, software as a rented service might be helpful. If I rent a hosted service from a SaaS provider, I can enter into exactly the kind of maintenence oriented, incremental model of development which will produce better software.
Randy, because, yeah, defence contractors are paradigms of efficient, value-for-money, production right ;-)
The reason this stuff is so prevalent in defence is because defence is the least scrutinized, least accountable industry on earth. As a branch of government they aren't responsible to the market or competition. And under the cover of "national security" they aren't responsible to public, political oversight either. Why should they use a good methodology?
To be fair, this kind of system is one where you probably want to trade efficiency (or satisficing) for reliability. And there's an expected cost and redundancy that comes with that. But even so ...
(See also : ModularityMistake)
No Backlinks