RAD, SCHMAD!!!

I know I should be in bed, but I am waiting for the iOS 5 upgrade to finish installing on the iPad, so I am stuck here, watching the status bar. I figured, why don't you write something in that anemic blog of yours. Well, sure, why not? Is there anything better I could be doing right now, besides sleeping? Anyone who knows me knows I have been an insomniac since at least my college years in Champaign, so why fight it. Just type, and express yourself.

Today, what stuck out to me is how we misapply the RAD concept. RAD stands for Rapid Application Development, which is supposed to mean a new(ish) method of cutting through the standard SDLC and going from wishlist to functioning solution in a nibmle, efficient manner. One would think that leaving the I/S oasis to found my own kingdom/fiefdom in the desert would be liberating enough - no more of the farce of TRMM project management, no more CMMI forest-killing documentation, and yes Lord, no more Rational ClearCase/ClearQuest. Glory!! However, this is not all there is to whittling away all the excess, and arrive at something leaner, cleaner and meaner. I think in some respects, the baby has been thrown out with the bathwater, and, as originally stated, some elements of the RAD concept are misapplied. My iPad is not upgraded, so I am stopped, just as I was getting warmed up. Yes, this can serve as a proper introduction to a what will likely be a series of blogs on what RAD is and isn't. Goodnight, my friends.