Re: ADA Popularity Discussion Request

[Jeffrey Carter <spam@spam.com>]

Kevin Cline wrote:

> The efficacy of much pre-code activity is debatable.  Many
> organizations have had great success with more agile methods of
> minimal up-front design followed by test-driven development and
> continuous refactoring.

The success of agile methods is debatable. Much of agile methods is 
simply a rehash of the rapid prototyping spiral methods of the 1970s 
intended to elicit requirements, and those are excellent methods when 
requirements are unclear. The main difference between those methods and 
agile methods is that the latter eliminates the final iteration of the 
spiral methods, in which the now well defined requirements are used to 
create a design, which is then implementated, possibly reusing some of 
the code from the prototypes.

Whether this is a success depends upon the definition of success. If 
success is measured in cost to initial deployment, or when you can 
charge your customers more to fix errors, it probably is a success. When 
success is based on the reliability and correctness of the software, or 
the total lifecycle cost of the software, the success of agile methods 
is unproven.

-- 
Jeff Carter
"Have you gone berserk? Can't you see that that man is a ni?"
Blazing Saddles
38