[development] An alternative to common thinking in 5-> 6 migration

[Marcel Partap]

On 11/03/09 15:04, Khalid Baheyeldin wrote:
> Marcel
>
> You mentioned something more than once in two contexts: having
> requirements and planning beforehand saves time in the long run, and
> your professor in a quality course.
>
> Let me point out again that this is open source and not a corporate
> environment, and hence the difference. Basically everything we assumed
> about how corporate shops work does not work at all, or not as well in
> open source.
>
> Several years ago, when I was with a corporation, we got a professor
> from the top Canadian university to present on requirements. He made the
> point that the more time you spend on requirements the less time you
> will spend on implementation. As an aside, the same concept was being
> touted in the business arena in the 80s as "the Japanese way" of management.
>
> When I asked him how does this apply to open source, and the success it
> had without this lengthy centralized planning. He did not have an answer.
>
> Once you have hundreds and thousands of contributors who never met each
> other, spread across the globe, each scratching their own (or their
> client/employer's) itch, we have a new paradigm (yeah, another
> buzzword). You have organized chaos.
>
> This is also why Agile/Scrum is showing success, as opposed to the
> traditional waterfall method tried and tested for more than half a century.
>
> For us who came from a corporate, or those like you who are still in
> academia, it may be hard to adjust at first. But once you "get it", it
> is a wonderful thing to watch and join.
>
> So, jump in and "Do". Write about it 6 and 12 months from now and see if
> you have changed your mind, and what you learned.
> --
> Khalid M. Baheyeldin
> 2bits.com <http://2bits.com>, Inc.
> http://2bits.com
> Drupal optimization, development, customization and consulting.
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