Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Working software is more valuable than documentation—except when it isn’t. And we have Dwayne’s Declaration.

Part of the Agile Manifesto states:

We…value working software over comprehensive documentation

Some of us are old enough to have known this years before the manifesto was manifest. Of course we wanted working software, except when we didn’t.

So here I go, kill me, but

Documentation is more valuable than working software (in some cases).

Valuable documentation…

• is that which comes from thoughtful and rigorous analysis
• explains the situation for which software is assumed to be the solution
• shows when it is better to just do the right thing at work and not waste money on new software

Finally, valuable documentation

• shows us when we don’t need any more software

Please note the first bullet above. Documentation that is more valuable than working software comes about only after thoughtful and rigorous analysis. That type of work is common sense, but not common practice.

Let us Think before we Work.

Hmmm, perhaps that should have been in the Agile Manifesto. Let’s call it Dwayne’s Declaration. Of course it isn’t new. Many of us are old enough to have known this for years.