Couldn't you also compare it to letting people that don't know about programming describe what they want in a program, as a target?

Like every customer would do (potentially with multiple stake holders/persons trying to prioritize different things). In the end the trained people handle these wishes and either decline them ("Not feasible, because.."), discuss them ("You might think you want that, but that would cause X, Y and Z. I'd suggest doing..") or turn them into reality.