[ThinkBeat]

I think this is how it should be in a more perfect world. and the purest implementation of an iterative development process.

The first implementation you write is and will always be a (throw away) prototype.

You learn a lot. You understand much more of the spec. Maybe users got a go. Maybe its just internal.

Now your write the first version. It is better. You understand even more.

Writing a proper prototype first used to be a thing. As we all know once a prototype was getting close to finished the budget changed and bam your prototype is in production.

It is not all that practical with huge applications. Perhaps there is a lesson in that.