Delivering the Impossible
Most software projects don't fail because of bad code. They fail because of a bad way of seeing the project in the first place.
Every project is really a bet, and it happens in a swamp: a mess of stakeholders, hidden constraints and competing interests that no plan drawn up in a meeting room can anticipate. The way through is research. Get working software in front of real users early, even when it’s embarrassing, and treat bad news as data.
Ideas in the book
- Bad news is data. Treat it that way, instead of as an attack.
- All projects are swamps. You can't plan your way across ground you haven't explored.
- The project is a bet. Break one big bet into many small ones.
- Point of view is worth 80 IQ points. How you see the project matters more than the tools you use.
- Deliver the possible, not the fantasy.
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Posts about the book and the ideas in it are on the blog. If you’d like to talk about it, get in touch.