[ visto aquí ]

On numerous occasions, I have spent time reading hundreds if not thousands of pages of requirements specs, prepared over the course of several months, which don’t define any sort of useable product. I had product backlogs with tens and hundreds of user stories, all properly prioritized and thought over. Yet – this backlog didn’t last more than a couple of months before the original ordering and feature list fell apart and became irrelevant.

And you know what? This is normal, expected and you should be prepared for it every single time you sit down to start a new project.

Conversations with my daughter before preparing breakfast in the morning, usually goes somewhat like this: “What do you want for breakfast honey?” “Well, I would like scrambled eggs. No, make it boiled. No, make it an omlette. You now what dad? I will have whatever you get me, just make it yummy”. This is the key point – “make it yummy”. Make it awesome, make them love it and make them come back to you for more good stuff.

How do you “make it awesome” then? Well, this is where it is important to remember that software development is an act of creation rather than manufacturing. You have to become a bit of an artist to make great software. Good taste and critical eye are important. User stories are not everything, they don’t give you the full picture – despite the name, they don’t tell “the whole story”.

(…)

Being profficient in communication is much more important than being a guru programmer, master-level Java-wrangler whose neurons run on CRL and who has written his first Lisp program at the young age of 6. More important even than having Six-Sigma Black-Belt, CMMI 10 Certified ScrumTrainer certifications.