Ron Jeffries of XP fame has a really good quote for this:
“If I’ve got six months to build a system, then I’ll spend six months building it. I’ll also spend six months designing it, and another six months testing it. The good news is that it’s the same six months”.
Continuous design is important.
i agree totally:
coding without planning is just as futile as coding with too much planning
continuous design is important
but that implies there isn’t a fixed target (i.e. cost is dynamic/moving/unknown). how do you convince the ppl who are paying you to essentially write you a blank cheque? if you were in their position, wouldn’t you want to know (upfront) what the cost is ?
Victor, how do you know upfront what the cost is?
Upfront being before design and code, I don’t see how it matters what order you do it after you get the check; except that continuous design actually finishes faster because less redesigns happen eventually.