Software Development Tomorrow

I have heard over and over again that software development is unique and different from other industries and disciplines. This is the same strategy a dysfunctional person uses to avoid counseling. A dysfunctional person will argue that his or her problems are unique, and different, that he or she is a special case. The reason this argument is made is to avoid having to take responsibility and listen to the advice of a counselor. These dysfunctional people adopt this strategy to avoid changing behaviors and continue to blame everyone else for their problems.

The same is true for software development. It is pretty common for those individuals in a software development organization to blame everyone else for his or her problems. The time has come for the software development industry to grow up and mature and stop blaming everyone else for its problems.

There is much to learn from the best in class companies as well as the worst in class companies. Software development can leap forward a full century by careful examinations of other industries and disciplines. Ultimately, it is possible for any software development organization to reboot in world-class mode.

Throughout the book I use the term software development organizations not Information Technology (IT), Information Systems (IS), or Information Management (IM).