Linus Torvalds Outburst Sparks Fierce Debate: Does Open Source ...

Specs tend to suck rocks when it comes to software.

I suspect they suck rocks in other areas, too, but get ironed out during the prototype phase prior to manufacturing.

That's why processes aping other engineering and manufacturing protocols fit software so poorly. There is no manufacturing phase in software. Burning DVDs/CDs and putting them in boxes doesn't count -- it's an undifferentiated act more akin to shipping products than making them.

Spending too much time and trouble up front in software design wastes the learning potential of the prototyping phase, takes undue time that could better be spent on making better software, and reduces opportunities for end-user feedback and its potential for "No, I think you misunderstood - That's really not what I was looking for."

This is not to say that some level of specs -- data requirements and interface design -- are unimportant, just that, generally speaking, software specs suck. If only spec writers would study Bauhaus and learn what "less is more" is all about.

I like to use software specs just as general guidelines and don't consider them to be written in stone, they can be especially usefull in a team so that everyones knows the general goal even though the goalposts will be moving all over the pitch and by the end of the game you can have a good laugh at how bad at referreeing the specs were.