The common thread running through all human pursuits is our nature.  This is exemplified best in our current economic crisis and the events leading up to the dénouement.  Peter Schiff is a market participant and analyst who was scorned and laughed at for his prescient conclusions on the US financial markets and economy.

Watching the video of the reaction to Peter Schiff’s analysis is reminiscent of the challenges anyone faces when presenting a view that conflicts with mainstream opinions, theories, and aspirations.  Galileo, Copernicus, and many others throughout history met similar if not worse resistance to the truths they thrust upon society, and we wonder today, because we know better, how anyone could have opposed it. This video is perhaps a modern reenactment of those historical themes.

So what’s this have to do about software development and project management?  There is a large debate in the software community on how best to manage software projects while software development continues to essentially remain in crisis: cost overruns, slipped schedules, failed deliveries, missed opportunities, etc…   There’s no evidence that the software community has gotten better, and some long time professionals argue we’ve gotten worse.   

The Agile camp proposes a new way while they face opposition from some long time practitioners who hold fast to traditional approaches.  Doesn’t the video hold many similarities to this on going debate?  Can you see yourself laughing at a Peter Schiff in the software community?  Maybe you see yourself agreeing with him.

Finally, how do we know we are standing on the right side of the debate?  I don’t pretend to know the answer here, but may I suggest that those who have the bad reaction to Schiff are reacting to his conclusions while ignoring the analysis that permitted him to reach those conclusions.   They are permitting their aspirations to block out anything that opposes them. And, finally, they are engaged in Magical Thinking – a cultural phenomenon – replacing reason with hope.

Peter Schiff explains on the Daily Show why he got it right.  It essentially comes down to basics, and that’s what finally will improve our software projects: a devotion to the basics.