RE: [xml-dev] Argument: Software design is important, data designis not

[cbullard@hiwaay.net]

Kurt said:

"This shouldn't have been that hard of an application. If the time had been
 spent up front in good data design and moving towards a resource centric
 rather than message centric approach, the project would have been
 functional in six months and fully operational in ten.

 So yes, I think data design is important."

Thanks Kurt.  That clarifies it.

a)  Work avoidance.  Once a project is won all of the contractors  
responsible for the new parts of the systems attempt to simplify their  
requirements and the contractors responsible for the existing systems  
to be integrated avoid changes to existing systems that are "working".

b)  The winning prime is responsible for satisfying a customer who is  
in requirements discovery mode.  Everything that sounds like a good  
idea is considered but once again, to meet schedule, they are  
"simplifying requirements".

c)  Uber-language design (what data driven systems need) is messy when  
done by consensus with a largish number of equally potent  
contributors.  AKA, why benevolent dictators tend to emerge past the  
first flush of kumbayah.  Over the decades of markup standards and  
implementation work, most of us can testify how difficult it is to  
create languages by committee, even the easy ones a good designed can  
do in a night over a beer.  So when the programmers tell the managers  
"don't worry about it, we'll translate, transform, toss away in code"  
and all they have to write back to the customer in discovery mode is  
"don't worry about it; Java does that" without explaining Java Does  
Nothing Until Programmed, the inexperienced sign off and then wait for  
the Next In Process Review meeting.

The *simple* phrase that covers a multitude of the arguments in this  
thread is:  Experience matters.  No free lunch.

One admonition:  if you have a very expensive and critical program to  
execute, don't farm it out across the border.   Keep it in the next  
room where you can watch it.  Love from afar is for fools and cuckolds.

len