Software Development Is a Bitter Sweet Symphony

Rewarding and frustrating in equal measure

Ben "The Hosk" Hosking
2 min readJul 16, 2023
Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

’Cause it’s a bittersweet symphony, that’s life
Tryna make ends meet, you’re a slave to money then you die — The Verve

Software development is a bittersweet symphony. Capable of one moment, giving you the highest highs followed by the lowest of lows a few hours later.

There is a deep paradox in software development. The non technical people (customers, managers, project managers, leaders) who want and need the software to be created as quickly and cheaply as possible.

They make decisions which look like it will speed the project but end up slowing it down.

  • Adding more people
  • Simple requirements to create shared understanding
  • Shortcuts
  • Optimistic deadlines

The developers with the technical knowledge, skills and experience who can make a realistic plan and a plan that would get the software created quickly are not listed to.

No Synergy

Plans are a useful tool. Plans create timelines and resource guides to deliver software. A plan allows you to coordinate your…

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Ben "The Hosk" Hosking

Technology philosopher | Software dev → Solution architect | Avid reader | Life long learner