Analogies: Part 1

Let’s say that one wants to paddle up the Colorado River. Paddling up any river can be difficult. There could be current, there could be turbulence. It’s certainly possible, but you want to make sure that you have enough paddlers to at least match the current and better still to be able overcome it. I am a pretty decent canoeist. I had guided wilderness canoe trips for many summers, I have a lot of technical ability, knowledge, and experience. But. I’m not going to paddle up the Colorado River by myself. I would and a whole team of paddlers with me or more likely an outboard motor. There are some rivers which I could paddle solo upstream by myself, such as the Nina Moose River, the Elkhart River, possibly a low flow Cowichan or Jordan River. But I know my limits and I’m not going to jump into a river that’s too powerful and will just wash me away.

Likewise, there are certain software projects that I can take on by myself. But for larger scale things, I need a team size and resources of the appropriate magnitude to be able to even consider taking them on. One of the benefits of experience is that you have the professional expertise and judgement required to determine the scale of resources necessary to accomplish a project.