Misaligning the process

In this section, we will look at two anti-patterns that in different ways make the development life cycle go off the rails. First, we will look at how big bang releases can lead to disastrous outcomes in many cases. Second, we will look at project pieism—the disastrous belief that you can avoid making important trade-offs.

Big bang release

The big bang release anti-pattern places the release of all functionalities in a single event at the end of a long-running project.

Example

RollerCo, a major manufacturer of roller skates and skateboards, is going through a major business transformation centered on creating a digitally enabled business that better meets the needs of today’s buyers. While not the end-all and be-all of the transformation, several system replacement projects are planned as part of the journey to provide more agility on the IT side.

Anandh is leading the project that aims to replace the legacy, home-grown CRM that...