[thelist] Search for a Development Methodology

Smith D.B. D.B.Smith at soton.ac.uk
Fri Feb 25 03:42:02 CST 2005


> ...If you employ a complete off-the-shelf methodology, you 
> will find that you are burdened with deliverables (and 
> therefore work) that brings no benefit so is a waste of time, 
> money etc.  
> 
> Dan, I cant agree with you there. The business in almost 
> every case has determined what they require. A methodology is 
> a recipe for success. This means that it has been tried, and 
> tested to work. It may not be applicable to every project, 
> but it is far from burdened with deliverables that are useless.

OK, maybe I was overstating it... Finding things out is rarely a waste
of time.  What I was trying to get across is that every case is
different and different methods suit different settings and there is no
one-size-fits-all methodology - some will fit better than others
depending on multiple factors, possibly including the people involved.
Anyone familiar with good old SSADM would surely agree?  That was
rhetorical - I don't want to start a religious war :)  

Contrary to how my last post _may_ have read (sorry), I do value methods
that work, but I think you need to pick and choose.  

Personally, (or is that professionally?), I have a set of methods
borrowed from various formal methods, books and other analysts that I
apply or omit on each project, but I'm not going to call it anything as
grand as a methodology...  

I think if there were a one-size-fits-all methodology that worked every
time, this thread would not have been started because we'd all be using
it already.  

Cheers,
Dan


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