I think a lot of software methodologies are promulgated by consultants – who have very different needs than startups or established companies. Bret Slatkin makes the point that you should always consider the source of the advice when determining if it applies to your situation.
I like reading people’s opinions about building software, but it’s really important to consider the source. I think a lot of advice for programmers out there isn’t contextualized enough.
Examples of metadata I want to know:
- Is the author running an agency? Do they just need to build X more things faster?
- Is the author building a 10+ year company? Do they need long-term infrastructure?
- Is the author a frontend, backend, full-stack, functional, etc programmer?
- Does the author manage? Are they a tech lead? Do they write code every day?
Knowing the answer to such questions determines whether or not the author’s guidance applies to your situation. It’s highly likely that most of the advice you see out there isn’t actually relevant to you at all. Including this post :)