The problem is a lot more like writing a novel in which a heroine is dark-haired, complete with lots of subtle allusions or maybe puns referencing that hair color, and then deciding that she is blonde after all.
This is the second time in this thread that the analogy of software design as fiction writing has appeared, and I really quite like it. If it’s not already popular, maybe it should be.
In my experience most user requirements documents are works of fantasy. It’s our job as programmers to drag the genre closer to science fiction. Software testing is more like gritty hard-boiled detective fiction.
This is the second time in this thread that the analogy of software design as fiction writing has appeared, and I really quite like it. If it’s not already popular, maybe it should be.
In my experience most user requirements documents are works of fantasy. It’s our job as programmers to drag the genre closer to science fiction. Software testing is more like gritty hard-boiled detective fiction.
It’s at least somewhat popular. I know that Paul Graham has often drawn comparisons between the two ideas.