Robby on Rails: Embracing Chaos, part 1thoughts.sort_by{|t| t[:topic]}.collect tag:www.robbyonrails.com,2005:TypoTypo2007-12-17T22:30:43-05:00Robby Russellurn:uuid:b33dc953-4c4c-478b-9332-b0f58c09e2142007-12-17T22:21:00-05:002007-12-17T22:30:43-05:00Embracing Chaos, part 1<p>Consider this part one of several posts on my thoughts of <strong>the art of embracing chaos</strong>.</p>
<p>Don’t let <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Agile-Software-Development-SCRUM-Schwaber/dp/0130676349">the books</a> fool you. The construction of custom software is an unmastered and volatile cesspool of chaos. I don’t adhere to the belief that there is a perfect methodology or process that will work for every project… as I’m sure many of you don’t.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.robbyonrails.com/files/usa_lebowski_hi.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Unlike bowling, you’ll never achieve a perfect score. Even in bowling, It’s unlikely that anybody will learn how to bowl a perfect score and do so on every game for the rest of their career.</p>
<p>You’ll never meet <em>every</em> expectation that a client has on every project.</p>
<p>You’ll never meet <em>every</em> expectation that a user has when they interact with your application.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.mickipedia.com/?p=1007">Expectations are an interesting thing</a>.</p>
<p>Your project might get widely adopted and embraced, but <a href="http://istwitterdown.com/">you’re still trying to control chaos</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robbyrussell/261845948/" title="chaos by Robby Russell, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/88/261845948_5c6fc23e4f.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="chaos" /></a></p>
<p>It’s chaos. Pure chaos<sup><a href="#fn1">1</a></sup>.</p>
<p>So, why do we bother? Why do we try so hard when the odds aren’t in our favor?</p>
<p>To be continued…</p>
<p>Related Posts:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.robbyonrails.com/articles/2007/04/10/embracing-failure-part-1">Embracing Failure</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.robbyonrails.com/articles/2006/11/18/dont-over-promise">Don’t Over Promise</a></li>
</ul>
<p id="fn1"><sup>1</sup> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_theory">Chaos Theory</a>, Wikipedia</p><p>Consider this part one of several posts on my thoughts of <strong>the art of embracing chaos</strong>.</p>
<p>Don’t let <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Agile-Software-Development-SCRUM-Schwaber/dp/0130676349">the books</a> fool you. The construction of custom software is an unmastered and volatile cesspool of chaos. I don’t adhere to the belief that there is a perfect methodology or process that will work for every project… as I’m sure many of you don’t.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.robbyonrails.com/files/usa_lebowski_hi.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Unlike bowling, you’ll never achieve a perfect score. Even in bowling, It’s unlikely that anybody will learn how to bowl a perfect score and do so on every game for the rest of their career.</p>
<p>You’ll never meet <em>every</em> expectation that a client has on every project.</p>
<p>You’ll never meet <em>every</em> expectation that a user has when they interact with your application.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.mickipedia.com/?p=1007">Expectations are an interesting thing</a>.</p>
<p>Your project might get widely adopted and embraced, but <a href="http://istwitterdown.com/">you’re still trying to control chaos</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robbyrussell/261845948/" title="chaos by Robby Russell, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/88/261845948_5c6fc23e4f.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="chaos" /></a></p>
<p>It’s chaos. Pure chaos<sup><a href="#fn1">1</a></sup>.</p>
<p>So, why do we bother? Why do we try so hard when the odds aren’t in our favor?</p>
<p>To be continued…</p>
<p>Related Posts:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.robbyonrails.com/articles/2007/04/10/embracing-failure-part-1">Embracing Failure</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.robbyonrails.com/articles/2006/11/18/dont-over-promise">Don’t Over Promise</a></li>
</ul>
<p id="fn1"><sup>1</sup> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_theory">Chaos Theory</a>, Wikipedia</p>