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Ahh, I see the disconnect, based on your last sentence. I basically don't think it's a mistake to improve corporate software from within. It's not going away

Ahh, I see the disconnect, based on your last sentence. I basically don't think it's a mistake to improve corporate software from within. It's not going away. And there are many decent programmers who will work in that environment because of a lifestyle choice. I also think you have an incorrect interpretation of history: the folks who did XP were contractors on a _project_, and actually writing _code_. Yes, they published books afterwards, but continued running _projects_ and writing _code_ afterwards. Finally, I think the culture and practice of software has a lot to do with those who write cheques, since that's in the end what funds it, like any engineering endeavour. Unless you're speaking of software-as-a-hobby.

gruseom 16y ago
It's not a mistake except insofar as it's impossible to any significant degree. It's only self-deception (encouraged by consulting cheques and/or ideological blinders) that says otherwise. At least that's been my experience through careful observation. I'm not speaking of software (only) as a hobby but of the startup community of hackers building and running their own companies. Look around you here. There are many people practicing what the word "agile" actually means, as opposed to these process doctrines. If the Agile processes are really a better way to build software, why don't most startups bother with them?
- jdlshore 16y ago
  How do you know they don't? Mojang Specifications, this year's hottest new game studio, uses Scrum. The Lean Startup movement combines customer discovery with Agile practices. That said, my experience is that development practices have little to do with startup success (unless they're overly rigid or formal, in which case they get in the way of success). They affect organizational scalability and long-term maintenance costs, which fall in the category of "nice problems to have" for a new startup. I do see ideological blinders here, but not the ones you meant.

gruseom 16y ago

It's not a mistake except insofar as it's impossible to any significant degree. It's only self-deception (encouraged by consulting cheques and/or ideological blinders) that says otherwise. At least that's been my experience through careful observation. I'm not speaking of software (only) as a hobby but of the startup community of hackers building and running their own companies. Look around you here. There are many people practicing what the word "agile" actually means, as opposed to these process doctrines. If the Agile processes are really a better way to build software, why don't most startups bother with them?

jdlshore 16y ago
How do you know they don't? Mojang Specifications, this year's hottest new game studio, uses Scrum. The Lean Startup movement combines customer discovery with Agile practices. That said, my experience is that development practices have little to do with startup success (unless they're overly rigid or formal, in which case they get in the way of success). They affect organizational scalability and long-term maintenance costs, which fall in the category of "nice problems to have" for a new startup. I do see ideological blinders here, but not the ones you meant.