A look back at the best from a year ago.
Does Your Product Have Soul?
soul or sole
Does your product have soul? Michael Shrivathsan asks this question, and we take it in a slightly different direction.
Design is Soul
Michael uses an interview with Steve Jobs to build a strong argument for the criticality of design. Along the way, he quotes Steve as saying that “design is the fundamental soul of a man-made creation…†It is a great argument for the importance of design. And the Apple imagery Michael invokes drives home the power of design. We agree with that. We just don’t think design is soul.
Monty Python and Software Requirements
Monty Python and the Holy Grail is one of the funnier movies ever made. It was rereleased a couple years ago with digital remastering, deleted scenese, and lots of extras in a two-disk version. The rest of this post will make you chuckle if you’ve seen the movie.
Another Use for “Why?”
“Why?†The question is our inspiration and our muse. “Why?†is the justification for our requirements. The key to identifying “What?†and “When?â€, which lead to “How?†and “How Much?†But there is another use for “Why?†– communication of intent (with stakeholders and implementers). Requirements documents are artifacts, but they are also dynamic documents. By documenting “Why?†a requirement is a requirement, we make it easier for future readers to understand.
