IT development (Score 1)

The reason software development is so hard simple. How many software projects have you worked on that were more or less exactly the same as the last one? Probably none. If you ever do work on a new project that is exactly the same as the last one it's usually the easiest thing in the world. Because you know EXACTLY what to expect and what's needed to make sure it all works. The very nature of IT projects is that your always doing new projects that have never been done before. Why write software that already exists? On top of this your working with a tool set that's constantly changing. Every 3 - 5 yrs programming languages change so much you might as well start from scratch. Since I started working in development I have used Progress, VB 3-6, .NET 1.1/2, ASP, ASP.NET 2 etc... All significantly different, which means your not really building on your knowledge. So a developer with 10 yrs experience does'nt neccessarily know more than one with 3 yrs experience in term of using the tools to do the job. If the same situation applied to real world engineering, hammers, nails, drills would be completey different every 5 yrs and every house built would be totally different in shape, materials etc.. than the last one built. In fact if you ever watch a documentary on buildings where radical designs are used, you'll find they have more or less the same problems software projects have. The buildings are never on time, they might have to restart half way through. The new tool they bought which hasnt been tested properly doesnt do the job etc.. The same problems as software projects have. In short, software development by its very nature does not build upon it's previous expriences. To gain competitive advantage IT has to be an ever changing process, in terms of tools used and technology implemented. Therefore IT development is a science but not an exact one and IT engineering is virtually non existent because engineering is about consistency, something IT will never have.