On Saturday 02 January 2010 21:08:51 Siddhesh Poyarekar wrote:
On Sat, Jan 2, 2010 at 3:42 PM, jtd jtd@mtnl.net.in wrote:
IMO the inputs BEFORE you write a single line of code is far more important than any number of bug fixers you are likely to get later. You miss this and you will have a full rewrite on the menu card.
It really depends a lot on the developers involved. There are some who prefer to rewrite sections again and again till things are perfect (prototyping). Others prefer to have a flow chart, ERD/class diagram, etc before they write a single line of code.
Of course, some projects (like accounting, trading systems, etc) simply write themselves better with a complete plan before development. It is probably like this because most developers who write this software do not have much background on the functional aspect of the app. Others (like UI elements of software, web sites, web apps, etc.) write themselves best when prototyped.
In this case you are dealing with a 1) Computing dummies - needs breast feeding 2) Domain experts - will erupt on seeing errors that are commonsense to them and makes no sense to the developer 3) Core business function - every malfunction makes people shiver 4) Entrenched competition -
IMO you will fail without a formal process in place to collect and disseminate whatever decisions are taken.