Developing software is synonymous to writing to a book, not because it's a creative task - which I do believe it is, but because when you write a book you go through many drafts before getting to the final released version. Just because the writer completes the first draft doesn't mean the publisher thinks it's ready for publication etc... Software development is the same unless you (the developer) is prepared to think in an iterative approach you'll never be able to break free from classical development paradigms, you have to accept the first version is never going to be complete and you'll never reach the nirvana of finished, there always something that could be improved. Oh and just like books code has a shelf life and it's never as long as you think or want it to be, and just because the software no longer fulfills what's required doesn't mean it's wrong, it just means the world has moved on... An example is the talk Eric Evans gave at QCon earli