Explaining software development methods by flying to Mars

https://feddit.uk/post/13885378

Explaining software development methods by flying to Mars - Feddit UK

This is waterfall method propaganda! It never works out this smoothly. They probably forgot important requirements like: the astronauts need to be alive on Mars.

This is what I came to the comment section for.

If like me you’re not a pro, it seems to literally just mean linear phases, so yeah, any nonlinearity would cause problems.

Waterfall model - Wikipedia

Waterfall is missing the part where the customer realizes they didn’t actually want to go to Mars they just wanted to view it out of a telescope.

But now they can only travel to Mars and the telescope is out of the budget because you spent so much money on the rocket

2 years in, the rocket is soon to be handed over. A loud “oh fuck” echoes through the hallways. It’s now up to the lawyers to figure out who’s at fault.
I hate how true this is. Not even 2 years later for my case.

Actual real world right now giant rockets include

  • one that is being built under waterfall methodology. It has been being built for several years. That’s the Blue Origin New Glen heavy lift reusable rocket

  • One that is being developed under an agile methodology, it flew as a subscale lander to test their engine and flight control, it has flown four full test flights, improving on each. That’s SpaceX’s Starship

We are yet to see either launch a payload to orbit

How was appollo programme planned?
It was outsourced to the guy who ran Nazi concentration camps to build ballistic missiles to bomb London with.

All the projects that have shittier outcomes in my experience is always waterfall. This is mainly because the stakeholders usually have this bright idea to be added in the middle of development that’s really need to be added at all costs and then got angry when the timeline got pushed because of their fucking request breaking a lot of shit.

At least scrum has a lead time of around 2 weeks so that when someone has a idea we can tell them we’ll add it to the backlog and hope they forgot about it during the next sprint planning.

I’m sure, doth the Astrumants should survive the landing, there should be a way to return, and they need a shitter as part of the missed requirements. As it’s a waterfall, that will come in the second, third, and fourth trips.
Or the funders get bored of waiting after ten years of “no Mars yet” and cancel the project, leaving you with a half finished rocket.