History of Software Engineering ◾ 13
e volatility of the requirements is an anomaly that cannot be accommodated
by the waterfall; if the requirements keep changing at these high rates, the design
that is based on them must keep changing also, and all advantages of the waterfall
disappear. It is like building a family home for mad customers who keep changing
their mind; no blueprint lasts, walls that have been recently built have to be torn
down and have to be erected in a different place. Unfortunately, this is the way of
life in most software projects.
e volatility plays exactly the same role as the previously discussed anomaly of
burning substances in early chemistry. In its consequences, it means an overhaul of
most of the software en ...