Today, my opinion is that software is grown, not built. You start with a small thing that mostly works, then throw away what isn't good and add what is missing

Today, my opinion is that software is grown, not built. You start with a small thing that mostly works, then throw away what isn't good and add what is missing. In this process, you learn more, so it is iterative. The main reason projects fail is not technological. The real killers are lack of analysis and lack of communication. Both are a lot easyer with 1 enthousiast doing the whole project.