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Erika Yanovich wondered: <<Do you think we should not plan at all beacuse X%
of our projects end up in chaos? My opinion is
that we should, it gives a framework to our actions. Most problems occur
when people have rigid attitudes i.e., they try to apply processes in
chaotic environments or act loose in steady ones.>>
I'm certainly far more on the planning side than the not planning side.
Being moderately up to date on chaos theory, I'd note that even in chaotic
systems, there's usually an attractor around which the product accretes, and
you can use that as the basis for your plans. Okay, once more in techwhirler
terms... <g> Planning only really hurts you when you stick your head in the
sand and refuse to acknowledge that things change--and change fast if the
development process itself is chaotic.
<<For me, the name of the game is flexibility>>
Yup. And though many of us like to think that even developers should be
controlled and harnessed and brought into line with a plan, it's worth
noting that some of the most creative ones would go nuts or leave the
company if you tried to hold them to a rigid plan. The solution lies in the
aikido philosophy: using their own energy for your benefit rather than
meeting force with force. Difficult to achieve in practice, but worth
trying.
--Geoff Hart, geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
580 boul. St-Jean
Pointe-Claire, Que., H9R 3J9 Canada
Hofstadter's Law--"The time and effort required to complete a project are
always more than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's
Law."
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