AntiPattern: EmperorsNewClothes
Original Author: JamesPoupard
Anti Pattern Category: Management
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Problem
- In design or code reviews, no one really understands the design but reviewers are unwilling to admit it.
- Any criticism is quashed by other reviewers who claim understanding and consequently gain a feeling of superiority.
Context and Forces
- Peer Review is seen as a milestone to pass before development can continue.
- Too much negative feedback can delay development and effect project timescales.
Proposed Solution (the bad one)
- Make design process and procedure idiot-proof to prevent developers making mistakes next time.
- Down-play complaints about over complexity or lack of abstraction because changes can be postponed until the next stage of development.
- Effort required to make major changes at this stage has a huge effect on project timescales. Consequently leave it as it is - it won't be as bad next time!
- Define design or coding standards with a set of clear rules that can be tested against to simplify the peer review process and minimise non-constructive feedback.
Resulting Context
- You cannot develop an idiot-proof process - a good process depends on good developers to execute it (see IdiotProofProcess).
- Delaying serious problems will lead to more serious ones (see ImplementationIssue).
- Checking only against standards will mean any updates to design or code is simply cosmetic.
- All of these leaves us with a poor design which means:
- Requirements may be left unmet
- Major problems are missed
- Difficult decisions are left to the implementers
- Coders ignore or abandon design
- Design will have served no purpose
Design Rationale
- Identify different people who:
- have good analysis and design skills
- can define good abstractions
- have good implementation skills
- or are subject matter or user experts
- Hold regular brainstorming sessions with these people to refine requirements and/or develop the design.
- Change organisation to promote day to day coaching of those less experienced.
- Adopt and/or develop simple, clear notations that are more understandable.
- Change focus so that formal reviews are a just a small part of the quality process.
Related AntiPatterns
- IntellectualViolence - used in review meetings.
- ThrownOverTheWall - guidelines, treated as formal process and followed blindly.
- DesignByCommittee - committee ineffectual, identify and assign correct roles.
- TheGrandOldDukeOfYork - roles and responsibilities do not match ability.
- IdiotProofProcess - following a strict process guarantees success...?
- ImplementationIssue - 'perfection' delayed until implementation.
Discussion below...
See also TheEmperorsNewClothes