pliantalliance.org

Came across this article about the necessity for slack time in a work environment so people can get some thinking done. The following quote sums up exactly why most software development groups aren’t pliant. They don’t take the time because they think they can’t afford it.

“All one can think and do in a short time is to think what one already knows and to do as one has always done.”

- Peter Drucker - The Effective Executive

Steve McConnell of Code Complete fame seems to be leaning into pliancy (although I’m assuming he doesn’t know it yet).

From the article:

“… McConnell noted what appears to be a contradiction in agile programming thus far. While intended to focus on individuals and interactions, agile seems to be mostly about processes and tools now, he said.”

“Different kinds of software call for different kinds of software development.”

And one of his many “worst ideas in software development” that sounds awfully familiar:

“One single development approach will work best for all projects.”

Pliant software development is all about being willing to bend software development techniques you come across to the context in which you are developing software. It is that simple. Simplicity is nice, except when you are trying to write blog posts. I’ve come to the conclusion that everything written on this site so far sums up all of pliant software development nice and neatly. I could rehash the same thought over and over again, but what would be the point of that? So is there anything left to write about?

(Incidently, the simplicity of PSD is a good thing in that there will never be enough material to write a book about, or give a talk about, or make any money on, so our local process du jour marketer is never going to be bothering us. :) )