> The problem is, doing the Right Thing doesn't make you the first to market, doesn't make your solution the cheapest and the most virally spreading.
There's definitely that, yes. But I'd still contend that we're also crappy at predicting trends and future uses of technology. Yes, some people have predicted things well in advance. Some have done so accurately. Some have done so consistently. But none have been both accurate and consistent. It's maddeningly difficult, even at short time scales, and second-order effects quickly take over. The same applies to even tiny projects.
BDUF just has too much in common with communism: They're both forms of well-intentioned central planning, and they're both symptoms of the hubris that makes each of us think (s)he is more of an expert than we really are. And they both break down when unforeseen forces slam into their base assumptions.
I hear you. I really do. I've BDUF'ed my fair share of systems, and witnessed countless other people do the same. It just never works out. There's a damn good reason that "Worse is Better" keeps winning: It's got serious evolutionary advantages over BDUF.
There's definitely that, yes. But I'd still contend that we're also crappy at predicting trends and future uses of technology. Yes, some people have predicted things well in advance. Some have done so accurately. Some have done so consistently. But none have been both accurate and consistent. It's maddeningly difficult, even at short time scales, and second-order effects quickly take over. The same applies to even tiny projects.
BDUF just has too much in common with communism: They're both forms of well-intentioned central planning, and they're both symptoms of the hubris that makes each of us think (s)he is more of an expert than we really are. And they both break down when unforeseen forces slam into their base assumptions.
I hear you. I really do. I've BDUF'ed my fair share of systems, and witnessed countless other people do the same. It just never works out. There's a damn good reason that "Worse is Better" keeps winning: It's got serious evolutionary advantages over BDUF.