2012 December 20
A friend of mine shared one of the best software analogies I have ever heard:
Her office needed some software, in this case a small database. When they specked and built the original it was small, could handle their tiny user and storage needs, and just worked. It was a VW bug.
After a little time they decided they needed a little more storage space, so they installed a roof rack. Then they determined that it needed a little more horse power to handle the extra load, so they somehow cobbled in the engine from a medium sized truck. Their user base had also grown, so while all the seats inside were already full, they added some running boards so people could cling to the sides.
Then things got ambitious. The organization had grown so much that now instead of a VW bug, what they really needed was a 737. Unfortunately, rather than having the funds to start fresh with a shiny new airplane, all they had was a pile of sheet metal, some duct tape, and a lot of chewing gum. Wings aren’t too hard to build, right? How about propellers?
After some hard labor, late nights, cuts, bruises, and burns, it finally looked like an airplane, sortof, if you had a few drinks first. But would it fly? Nobody was quite sure, and most were too afraid to try, especially when the wingtips kept falling off.
Comments:
MM: Slightly OT, but there’s another, similar problem which is amusing for a different reason: when you have nothing but the parts for a 737 and you need to assemble a VW bug.
CR: Yes, that definitely happens, usually as the result of a very persuasive salesman and a poorly informed manager. Regardless, you’re still the poor fool left with the Japanese instruction manual and a wrench.
GD: sometimes it happens because you work at the 737 factory.