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Occasionally, I write my opinions on software development. By Geries Handal, Github

Embrace waterfall

2023-08-30

Found this gem of a comment describing waterfall process (in the context vs Agile and/or Scrum):

Waterfall is natural law. All technology goes through the process:

Analysis - Requirements - Specification - Design - Implementation - Qualification - Testing - Release.

You literally cannot have good technology without enforcing this workflow and properly completing each step. Its a function of the nature of the way the mind works to solve a problem and encode that solution into a workable technology.

This natural law is resisted by those who do not have experience with it, and who also attempt to make their mark on the universe by either re-inventing this natural law, and slapping their own brand on it, or attempting to ignore key parts they don't like, and in which they are not competent, refactoring it over time only to discover .. as it is a natural law - that they end up re-inventing it, as well. And then slap their brand on it.

But I can say with great confidence after 40 years of developing technology, that the more you resist this natural law, the worse your product will be. All failed technology can be evaluated on the basis of how well this workflow was manifested by those involved.

Scrum is just New-Age Waterfall. Agile is just 'officious scrum'. 10x developers are merely individuals who have stopped resisting this natural law, and in so doing have worked out how to apply it productively in almost everything they do ..

Another factor is that Waterfall is iterative. You can do it in grandiose fashion, and you can do it on a granular, microcosm-level. The more you iterate, the more water flows, and the better things get - but people tend to resist revising themselves. The inclination to check oneself before one wrecks oneself is either bred out, culturally, or reinforced through the gauntlet of fire that is the modern industry. The better you get at iterating over the waterfall, the higher quality your product.

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