Reading the comments ( and the article ) I think people are forgetting about the customer causing problems. For example, what do you do when you and your custo

Reading the comments ( and the article ) I think people are forgetting about the customer causing problems. For example, what do you do when you and your customer agree on certain features by a certain timeframe and then... that customer turns around and promises something to someone else, then asks you if you can do that _without_ _consulting_ _you_ _first?_ If you refuse, you cause trouble for your customer, and potentially yourself. And then there's cultural considerations. And then your customer gets distracted by this and that, and you lose control of you customer? This kind of thing happens. Plenty of companies are square in the "customer is always right" camp, which I think is a _bad_ idea. The customer is not always right. This is why I think planning and estimating is a good thing, but controlling your customer is also important to keep in mind. You have to be willing to compromise, yes, but you also need to say "no" sometimes, or at least say "Well, let's finish this first, get the product out the door, and put that in version 1.5". However, I feel like a lot of people are too scared to do that.