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Software Project Plans Make Us Stupid
An impossible plan makes people take short cuts
“PowerPoint is the scourge of critical thinking. It encourages fragmented logic by the briefer and passivity in the listener.” ~James Mattis, “Call Sign Chaos” We Have Met the Enemy and He Is PowerPoint
General Jim Mattis is not a fan of PowerPoint, he said “PowerPoint makes us stupid.” I have a similar opinion about project plans.
Underestimated Software plans encourage people to take shortcuts and make short-term decisions which cause long-term problems. Software development is usually a long process, ranging from a few weeks to a few years.
Software plans are the scourge of critical thinking, causing people to forget the purpose of the project and focus people on meeting the plan.
The goal becomes the plan, no matter how bad the plan originally was and regardless of the changes that occur. Leadership are anchored by the initial plan and shortcuts become the solution.
At many moments in a project, I am convinced that creating software must be a game for madmen, and I must be one of them.
Plans are wrong
Project plans should come with the warning most project plans underestimate the complexity and overestimate the benefits.
Project plans use high-level requirements and when these are broken down into low-level details, they expand……a lot. I estimate requirements grow 30% during the project and requirements are discovered. This isn’t the fault of anyone. It’s not possible to gather all the requirements at the start.
It’s takes less time to get many requirements and start building. Requirements are discovered and software emerges during the project. Instead of embracing change and building the software required. Software projects resist the changes because it conflicts with the initial estimate made without the full requirements.
