A script contains a description of exactly what will happen from the start of the movie to the end. It contains all of the dialog. It contains descriptions of

A script contains a description of exactly what will happen from the start of the movie to the end. It contains all of the dialog. It contains descriptions of the important interactions with external entities like the location and any props you will need. I was suggesting that the script is a bit like what we used to do when we wrote requirements documents. I doubt many people do it any more, but a long time ago we used to describe all of the workflows for an application before we did any design even. It was a description of exactly what would happen in every scenario. Sometimes it would have UX descriptions, but often not -- those would come later. This almost always fails because usually people's initial ideas are poor and it takes iteration to come up with a product that actually works well. I don't think it's too far of a stretch to compare a script to a requirements document. Of course apples aren't oranges even though they are both fruit. You can find commonalities in anything and also differences. My main thought was that the OP suggested that filming a movie required complete control over the process, even though it was a lucrative endeavour. I thought, what's the difference between a movie and a software project, then? Are we missing opportunities because we don't apply enough control? I don't think so. I think a movie project has a lot more information about what they are building before they start than a software project. That's the reason that control works better for them. However, I do think that software projects often lack vision because often nobody is responsible for that vision. Interestingly, as I said, movies appoint someone to be in charge of the vision of the project. Would the same thing work on a software project? I think it would. If you think that my comparison is silly, then how do you rationalise the OP's claim that control is necessary for making a movie, while it appears that control is something we want to avoid for software projects? Or do you believe that software projects do require control in the same way that film making does?