If construction was like software



  • Customer
    Developer

    C I want a bridge
    D Ok, what kind of bridge
    C You don't know what a bridge is? Land on this side, land on that side, road touch here, road touch there, go.
    D Ok?

    1 year later

    C No No, big boats will come through here, I need it to let the boats through
    D Uh, we're halfway built, there's concrete everywhere. Ok ok. How about this. A vertical lift.
    C What, that's boring. It needs to be flashy. What's this, swivel, that's cool.
    D You don't have enough room for a swivel bridge if you want boats that big to get through.
    C The customer is always right. Make a swivel bridge. How long.
    D Well we need to repurpose the current structure, so that will take a while.
    C 1 more year. Or I go somewhere else.
    D You'll still have to pay us for our work.
    C No I don't. You didn't make a bridge, and my contract says a bridge.
    D No, the contract had the exact design we chose.
    C SWIVEL.

    6 months later.

    D Ok, so through a massive advance in building technology using some cool quantum physics tricks, I have a bridge that swivels but doesn't take up space.
    C What? There's no way I'm going to pay for that.
    D Fine, we'll give you a discount.
    C Ok, I'm going to drive on it.
    D But, we haven't even tested the model yet.
    C We need it now. I have to start making deliveries on this new route. I'm going to test it myself.
    D No wait!!!

    Car crashes.

    D ... I haven't installed the bridge yet.



  • When I saw C and D, I imagined this was how CDCK actually built things for a moment.



  • Don't you mean "If construction was like software" on the first edit?



  • What are you talking about? That's what it says!



  • Revisionist!



  • @ben_lubar said:

    What are you talking about? That's what it says!

    The world may never know.



  • IngSoc will make sure of that. doubleplusgood.



  • @Arantor said:

    IngSoc will make sure of that. doubleplusgood.

    Bah! That's so 30 years ago.



  • And the government is so desperately trying to catch up to the blueprint so helpfully left behind.



  • @xaade said:

    C We need it now. I have to start making deliveries on this new route. I'm going to test it myself.D No wait!!!

    Car crashes.

    At least with construction the problem can sometimes fix itself.


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