Re: Whatever happened to reuse?

From: Cristiano Sadun (cristianoTAKEsadunTHIS_at_OUThotmail.com)
Date: 05/14/04 

Date: Fri, 14 May 2004 09:30:56 +0000 (UTC)

"Shayne Wissler" <thalesNOSPAM000@yahoo.com> wrote in
news:tV8oc.26999$z06.4469774@attbi_s01:

> This kind of mindset will yeild an unsolvable problem. You can't
> design tools primarily by watching what other people do with them.
> What if they do something stupid with them? What if different users
> use the tools in contradictory ways?

You're supposed to find and watch the right users. Watching me using a
screwdriver to hammer nails isnt probably going to be very useful to a
screwdriver designer; but watching a skilled carpenter and listening to
his wishes ("it would be nice if I hadn't to keep the screws in the right
position by hand"; "it would be nice if I hadn't to depend only on my
wrist strength"; etc) is the only thing that can let him designer a
seriously improved screwdriver - something that's gonna be useful.

> The right method is to have the wisest, most skilled people in the
> organization design these reusable tools.

Skilled in what? Skill in *using* a screwdriver is quite another issue
than skill in *building* a screwdriver.

The most skilled builders should listen to the most skilled users, seems
to me.

> They will avoid the two-fold
> hazzard in creating reusable software: 1) Creating bad abstractions
> from their own guesses and failure to look carefully at the end-user
> needs;

Exactly. Now, isnt that in contradiction with "You can't design tools
primarily by watching what other people do with them"?'

Imho what one has to do, is to find the right people to watch.

> 2) Creating bad abstractions from someone else's bad guesses
> and trying to create some sort of bizzare average across everyone's
> conflicting desires.

Absolutely right.

>
> Of course, this recommendation demonstrates why reusability is so
> "hard": Many organizations are run by egomaniacs who can't handle the
> idea of putting someone in such a lofty position (and it is a lofty
> position, one that should be regarded with a high degree of respect).
> Perhaps they know that they couldn't cut it in that position, so they
> don't want anyone else there either. These are the same people who
> push XP, and evidently, for exactly the same reasons.

Woah. I think XP's just giving some useful insights in the weaknesses of
traditional approaches to software construction - especially the
"everything can be specified beforehand" myth.

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