Re: Development: A Structured Problem Area?

Quoting Edmund Schweppe <schweppe-EkmVulN54Sk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:

> Derek Richardson wrote:
> 
> > Is software development a structured or unstructured problem? I think
> > it is clear that requirements elicitation/generation and user
> > interface design are unstructured. But, if we postulate that human
> > experts have resolved these two areas,
> 
> That's a *huge* leap. I've yet to see a requirements process that *ever* 
> "got it right the first time" - i.e., came up with specifications so 
> good that the programmers could build the app and meet all the end-users 
> needs *without* the programmers having to get any additional information.

And yet, by the time the software is shipped, all relevant requirements issues
have been resolved, one way or another, if only through capriciousness or
neglect. So why can't we just use the requirements at that point as the basis
for discussion?

> > is what is left still unstructured? If so, why?
> 
> I would think so - it's certainly chaotic and liable to surprise. For 
> starters, even if we posit a fantastic initial specification, the 
> unstructured nature of the outside world (with which our customers must 
> interact) will drive the requirements to change in an unstructured 
> manner over time.

Let's take a snapshot of requirements as of today. If requirements change
tomorrow, we'll take a snapshot then and make that tomorrow's problem. 

The issue is foundational and theoretical, though it has clear implications for
practice. If requirements are fully specified, is the rest of the work a
"well-structured problem" that can be solved by rule-based methods?

Derek Richardson


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