Bulldozer00's Blog

In the software development industry, going too slow can result in nothing getting done in an “acceptable” amount of time and thus, impatient managers cancelling projects. On the other hand, going too fast can result in hackneyed designs, halted downstream progress due to lots of rework on an unmanageable code base, and thus, frustrated managers cancelling projects.

As the figure below shows, the irony is that going too slow can result in less sunk cost due to earlier cancellation than going too fast – which gives a false illusion of great progress till the fit hits the shan.

So, how do you “objectively” know if you’re going too fast or too slow? It’s simple: you freakin’ don’t. However, in a world increasingly dominated by “agile” indoctrination, faster seems to be always equated with better and the tortoise vs. hare parable is heresy.