We consider Software Dragons to find a procedure to overcome them. Let's describe firstly the usual counteraction. This is a war against Dragons.
Consider a typical software project. Even the people don't speak about Dragons, they act as they fight against big and powerful monsters. Unfortunately such wars begin when Dragons have a lot of power.
A little worm may months or years live in the shadow of a big project. Nobody knows about him. Nobody is afraid of him. Even nobody see how the Dragon grows in the dark.
But the time comes and the people understand that the project is in the shadow of a big Dragon of The Project's Complexity. All of the deadlines burn in the Dragon's fire. The excellent project structure breaks down from one hurt of the Dragon's tail. All resources are devoured by Dragon.
The people begin to make war on the Dragon of The Project's Complexity. They don't attempt to understand the Dragon, they don't speak about Dragon, but they seek Silver Bullets to kill the Dragon. They arm with CASE tools, modern methods, later generation languages and a heap of software. They battle against The Dragon of The Project's Complexity and the victory comes near and near. The Dragon is smaller and smaller.
But the time comes and the people understand that the project is in the shadow of an army of Dragons. Different kinds of Software Dragons were coming from black shadows of CASE tools, of modern methods, of lather generation languages and of the heap of software. Deadlines burn again. Project structure breaks. Resources are devoured.
It may seem strange, but the most frequent conclusion from Dragon Wars is the decision to find Silver Bullets with more magical power. Silver Bullets casting industry is a very profitable business today. Silver Bullets have now ``scientific'' names and wise explanations of magical effects. Unfortunately such things cannot help against Software Dragons. The ``scientific'' smog is created by a Dragon too. This Dragon is one of most damaging Software Dragons. His name is The Dragon of Silver Bullets. This Dragon makes fog of ``scientific'' words and tells ``proved'' tales to hide other Dragons.
If somebody is under power of the Dragon of Silver Bullets, he cannot overcome other Dragons. He doesn't see the real problems. He believes in the existence of a simple and cheap solution. He doesn't solve problems, but seeks The Right Silver Bullet.
Maybe Silver Bullets are good. However we know that wizards are rare to meet today. People in wizards' clothes are more frequent, but they cannot give to the bullets enough magical power. Even they use wise words and ``scientific proved'' methods.
The people being under control of the Dragon of Silver Bullets are charmed with buzzwords. They open their purses and hope in the power of magic. If you know about Dragons, you know that to kill them you need not only bullets made from silver. You can check the real magical power of a wizard who sells such bullets. For instance you may ask about his magic wand.