Comments on: The value of planning ahead http://snarkfest.net/blog/2010/02/03/the-value-of-planning-ahead/ Fun and games with the politics of open source Fri, 24 Feb 2012 22:59:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Jason http://snarkfest.net/blog/2010/02/03/the-value-of-planning-ahead/comment-page-1/#comment-1154 Jason Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:54:54 +0000 http://steelgryphon.com/blog/?p=127#comment-1154 Good point, especially making it clear that planning for the future isn't always as simple as, "hey, we might want this feature, let's add a bunch of code to make it easier to do that at point". I can't tell you how many times I've spent time "overarchitecting" some piece of software per management's request just to have the potential feature completely ignored and never fully implemented (what a waste). Imagine what people would be saying about the wasted money spent on the lower deck if no subway was ever built in Toronto? With that being said, I think the ability to plan ahead like this is really what makes us human. No other animal has the intelligence to think long term like that. Of course no other animal is designing software either. :) Good point, especially making it clear that planning for the future isn’t always as simple as, “hey, we might want this feature, let’s add a bunch of code to make it easier to do that at point”. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve spent time “overarchitecting” some piece of software per management’s request just to have the potential feature completely ignored and never fully implemented (what a waste). Imagine what people would be saying about the wasted money spent on the lower deck if no subway was ever built in Toronto?

With that being said, I think the ability to plan ahead like this is really what makes us human. No other animal has the intelligence to think long term like that. Of course no other animal is designing software either. :)

]]> By: Robert Accettura http://snarkfest.net/blog/2010/02/03/the-value-of-planning-ahead/comment-page-1/#comment-1153 Robert Accettura Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:14:07 +0000 http://steelgryphon.com/blog/?p=127#comment-1153 Excellent post. I don't think this is just an engineering issue, I think it's really an issue for society at large. I think this concept in general was lost after WWII, especially with the baby boomer generation. You see this in many respects from budgeting to business. People are much more near-term minded than long-term. The days of building something so that it can last 500 years are mostly gone in favor or cheaper quicker construction. The days of building a slow steady business are also gone in favor of quick startups that grow and die almost overnight. Even television shows have a handful of episodes in which to prove themselves and succeed or they get pulled. You can even blame lots of the economic troubles on this concept. Many of the mistakes made were nearsightedness. Is it risk tolerance (why take a long term gamble when you can take a quick win and leave)? Or is it simply work avoidance? Excellent post.

I don’t think this is just an engineering issue, I think it’s really an issue for society at large. I think this concept in general was lost after WWII, especially with the baby boomer generation. You see this in many respects from budgeting to business. People are much more near-term minded than long-term. The days of building something so that it can last 500 years are mostly gone in favor or cheaper quicker construction. The days of building a slow steady business are also gone in favor of quick startups that grow and die almost overnight. Even television shows have a handful of episodes in which to prove themselves and succeed or they get pulled.

You can even blame lots of the economic troubles on this concept. Many of the mistakes made were nearsightedness.

Is it risk tolerance (why take a long term gamble when you can take a quick win and leave)? Or is it simply work avoidance?

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