{
    "href": "/post/2013/03/27/lets-just-build-a-generic-system/",
    "relId": "2013/03/27/lets-just-build-a-generic-system",
    "title": "Let's Just Build A Generic System!",
    "author": "pmjones",
    "markup": "html",
    "tags": [
        {
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            "relId": "php",
            "title": "PHP",
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        {
            "href": "/tag/programming/",
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            "title": "Programming",
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    "created": "2013-03-27 18:28:45 UTC",
    "updated": [
        "2013-03-27 18:28:45 UTC"
    ],
    "html": "<blockquote>\n<p>Common technical conversation: \"Well, why don't we just make a generic system, and then we'll tweak it to work with every specific implementation as we roll it out?\"</p>\n<p>There follows a long conversation from any good project manager that runs roughly like this:</p>\n<p>a) In order to avoid having to completely rework much of the innards of a \"generic\" system, you need to know all the ways in which the specific systems could be exceptional.</p>\n<p>b) In almost every case, if you knew the data in (a), there would be no reason to build a \"generic\" system, because you could simply start building the specific systems.</p>\n<p>c) No, customer, your case is not an exception to (b).</p>\n<p>d) OK, happy to do it your way. Please sign this spec, and pay attention to the bit that states that change requests void deadline commitments and will be charged extra at a higher than standard rate.</p>\n<p><strong>Most \"simple projects,\" at least in the tech world, tend to be complex projects that have not been subject to sufficient scrutiny to have their complexities identified.</strong></p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Emphasis mine. Via <a href=\"http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/03/27/will-obamacare-s-exchanges-be-ready-on-time.html?hubRefSrc=permalink#lf_comment=66093971\">Will Obamacare's Exchanges Be Ready on Time? - The Daily Beast</a>.</p>\n"
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