The Dizzying Variety of Software Approaches

The endless varierty of software development frameworks and acronym-heavy approaches should not inspire confidence despite the software sector’s enthusiasm for each new fad. Rather, the continual emergence of enew approaches signifies an industry burdened by ignorance and arrogance – with little meaningful progress towards reliability or consensus on what really matters..

No Consensus, No Clue

The popularity of competing approaches points to a stunning lack of consensus on the fundamentals of building reliable, quality products. Sound software can be delivered by following core principles of disciplined engineering, yet no one is doing so, nor seems interested in learning how. Most organizations seem more concerned with jumping on the bandwagon of the latest viral framework than understanding how to critically assess the needs of their specific products and teams. Too many teams rig their workflow to fit a fashionable development approach rather than objectively analyzing how to build software properly given constraints. This suggest a worrisome ignorance of what software engineering excellence entails.

Fads Reign

Rather than chasing fads aiming to tame inherent dysfunction, software organisations might choose to focus on nurturing capability. With the right foundation of competent collaboration towards common goals, delivering meaningful software becomes simpler – no convoluted processes required. The scarcity of investment in systematic skills training and institutional knowledge transfer remains suspect. Why don’t more companies promote engineering excellence through rigorous apprenticeship models? One rerason is – who would provide these models? The industry is too juvenile to be able to agree on such a model. The fascination with process over people points to deep arrogance and denial of what causes products to succeed or fail in reality.