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by regular_trash 2 days ago
Well that's a pretty contrived example. There are fair amount of requirements that can be predicted as "possibly coming" in a given problem space, and a good design typically takes them into consideration and plans contingencies such that a design doesn't crumble.
2 comments
AlotOfReading 2 days ago
It's extreme to demonstrate the point, but it's not contrived. Realtime deadlines are a completely normal requirement for the systems I work on. I have change reqs on my desk right now that specify a full reboot back to network responsiveness in <=300ms. That definitely changes how the system is designed.
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pydry 2 days ago
It being extreme is what makes it contrived.

It's also a requirement programmers often overemphasise due to the McNamara fallacy.

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Supermancho 2 days ago
Contrived does not mean unrealistic. I have seen many extreme requirements come down on short notice. Over time, the peter priciple guarantees that there will be a middle manager that miscommunicates an agenda they dont fully understand, then push an emergency change down the hierarchy.
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pydry 2 days ago
No, but programmers fetishize speed. Customers usually value it far, far less than many programmers think.

Ive seen many a programmer gagging to rearchitect to speed up an app 2x or 3x when there are 9 other things a customer genuinely wants first and the programmer refuses to believe it.

Most recently it was on a RAG system where an extra 500ms would surely have been appreciated but the right answer mattered 100x more.

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AlotOfReading 2 days ago
You missed the point of the example. The parent said any design that has to change with a single requirement shift is a bad design. So I gave a requirement that virtually any design would have to change to accommodate. It doesn't preclude the existence of other, more plausible requirements that shift designs. I even provided a real example of one, which you've ignored.
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akoboldfrying 2 days ago
Right, the point is that GP's definition should take the nuance you mention into account (namely, that some types of changes are more likely, and thus more important to handle nicely, than others).
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