[atmartins]

Aren't the gas and electrical lines akin to some core capabilities of the system? I have yet to find a (web project) that doesn't need auth, eventing, logging, etc. I don't expect those to change how they work frequently, just line the guts of the building.

To keep with the metaphor, I DO expect to plug an appliance in, though. Or that a room could be used for another purpose. Obviously changing from an office to a commercial kitchen is a major change but if that's what somebody wants to spend their money to do...

So I guess my thought is, "software engineering" and "engineering" are very broad. I actually think software challenges are not so unique. My experience has been that many people lack intuition about the software in question. Most people live in a building of some kind and if they asked for only Brawndo in the water pipes, it would be easy to convince them of how short sighted that is (or they wouldn't even ask). With software I feel like there's still some expectation of magic and zero friction just because it doesn't take a jackhammer to move a wall.