Customer Reviews

One Minute Methodology

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If there is a literary art form it is satire. Properly done, there is nothing better. However, if it is even slightly off, it is clumsy and dull. The tale in this book is one that runs down the right path, never wavering from the essential point.
The strategy of the "One Minute Methodology" is simple, give the managers what they want. Since most are simple creatures, it takes very little time to determine what they want and even less to explain it to them. Hence the title of the book, where managers are tested for their reaction and then told that what will be built is what they have reacted positively to. All of which takes about one minute. Unfortunately, this efficient approach to planning software has severe negative consequences. Although everyone remains happy for most of the time, that changes quickly when the company goes bankrupt. Written before the dot-bomb craze struck, this book certainly is a sound predictor of the consequences of a do it quick mentality.
The closing of the tale is a description of the five year methodology, where the successful company builds an IT department with meticulous concern for detail. It was not long ago when companies like Wal-Mart and K-Mart were put under serious scrutiny and some ridicule for taking great care in the development of their web presence. Many thought that they would be rolled over by the dot com crowd getting there first and grabbing the largest market share. Now, they are the major online players and many of their apparently formidable rivals are as desirable as a recently road-killed skunk. Once again, the author shows his knowledge in describing the right way to build IT solutions.
This book contains a simple, yet effective fable for success. Complete with a moral at the end, it really could have been written thousands of years ago. The moral is that complex problems are solved over time by meticulous design, planning and execution. A quick fix leads to nothing but farce, giving people the opportunity to write a satirical piece about you.