Recovering from Method Abuse

This chapter talks about recovering from a recurring syndrome that is affecting both managers and engineers in the software industry. The syndrome is the performance of actions that lead to (project) failure while preserving the actors' egos. People over-methodize activities because it is safer. Most organizations institutionalize this practice in any of several ways, making it even harder to kick our procedure dependence. The procedure dependence can be seen during working out software cost-estimation, achieving quality goals as defined by the metrics, process improvement models, architectural selection, object-oriented design method, and performance evaluation. If continued in this path, one can only build cookie-cutter, low-risk, low-payoff, mediocre systems, that fill the need for uniform products. However, glory and success come to those who take risk, who put their own careers on the line by embracing big, hairy, audacious goals, (BHAGs).