Re: up front designs always useless

biwabik_at_users.forethought.net
Date: 01/17/05 

Date: 17 Jan 2005 08:48:09 -0700

In article <MPG.1c50f35f887bf5f49898ae@news.noos.fr>,
Laurent Bossavit <laurent@dontspambossavit.com> wrote:
>> > server hardware with a three-week delivery lead needs to be ordered
>> > earlier than three weeks prior to going live. The lean folks talk about
>> > deferring commitment until "the last responsible moment".
>>
>> The definition of "last" and "possible" are the interesting bits.
>
>Per the example above we have one reason not to delay a decision: where
>there is a measurable lead time - a delay between making the decision
>and its having effect. Are there other reasons ?

 Many other reason's exist. I've said in this group before, substituting
simple rules for engineering judgement is not a good idea.

 At it's most basic, the argument here is where you draw the line between
two different risks:

 1.) The risk of making a decision too early and getting it wrong.
 2.) The risk of waiting too long to make a decision.

 A lot of the ites under #2 are process and political:
Budget - At some point a budget is going to be set by some organizations.
         Without some decisions being made, it's more likely to be wrong.
Business Change Boards - At some point in some organizations, you have to
         say "I'm going to build X, it will cost Y and take Z to complete.
         We expect to get W in return." This may not be a formal process.
Training - From a technical point of view, you can be changing screens up
         to the last day. The impact on training is going to be large.
         This is probably the number one reason why "code freeze" is
         popular (although I've never seen it actually frozen).
Marketing - We have to have something to say at conference X.
Procurement - We need X amount of time to purchase Y.

You need to look at the risks your project is facing and decide where YOU
draw the line for THIS project.

>
>Laurent
John

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