Chapter 2. Finding the Core Problem

Every piece of software is written to solve a problem, and in turn is a perfectly valid solution for this exact problem. Sadly, the problem a piece of software solves so perfectly is not always the problem the software was created for in the first place or even the problem the programmer had in mind when the software was written. The history of programming is full of examples where developers tried various ways to come up with a way to be able to perfectly state a problem first, and then implement a solution. Developing software based on the waterfall model is a great example of having a nice idea that failed to deliver on the promise. When you ask the parties involved about the failure, the reason will most likely be that the problem diverged from the specification, or the specification was misunderstood in—according to one party—a very obvious way. So, why is this?

When starting a software project, especially one motivated by...