Hiking and Software

Came across a gem of a blog post that compares software development and hiking in the Grand Canyon. Really. It's an enjoyable read even if you're not interested in software. Here's a taste:

The goal, the abilities of the organization, the apparent short distance to enticing and desirable “points of interest”, and the risks are all often misunderstood. All the available money, time, and effort have often been expended by the time the real work of coding/testing/deploying begins and we realize how difficult everything is and how far we’ve gone down a winding, narrow trail we can no longer get back up.

The post is a good reminder that goals, abilities, risks, etc. should be given due attention in any software project.