Interesting and thought-provoking article by Jaron Lanier (he is the one who coined the term "virtual reality")Why do some software projects sail to completion while so many others seem cursed? Why must software development be so difficult to plan?
These questions should concern everyone interested in science, not just programmers, because computer code is increasingly the language we use to describe and explore the dynamic aspects of reality that are too complicated to solve with equations. A comprehensive model of a biological cell, for instance, could lead to major new insights in biology and drug design. But how will we ever make such a model if the engineering of a straightforward thing like a personal productivity package confounds us?
http://discovermagazine.com/2007/jul/jaron2019s-world