Practice · 1990–now · Object Wave
Big Design Up Front
Spec first, code later. Agile didn't kill planning — it killed pretending the Gantt chart was reality.
Big design upfront fails when requirements lie and markets move faster than review boards. It mutated into iterative delivery because shipping beats perfect specs. Planning still exists — the fad was believing the first document was destiny.
Case studies
Context
Everything became an object — until it didn't
Objects promised reuse; enterprises bought the promise in bulk. Java gave a portable runtime with real teeth. CORBA and UML-heavy processes gave vendors a decade of workshops. The survivors were the languages and platforms that outlived the methodology theater. The lesson — complexity sold as architecture burns cash — returns every decade with new branding.
Compare with
Related
Practice · 1997–2012
UML Everywhere
Diagrams as deliverables. Useful as a sketch tool; catastrophic when treated as source of truth.
Practice · 2001–now
Agile (as practiced)
Individuals and interactions — then SAFe slideware. The manifesto stuck; the ceremony industrial complex is the fad layer.