Is it always? In dollar amounts, I really do not know that it always is. "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good" and all. As a developer, I am always going to be the one push for better tests, more efficient systems, etc. but pg's post a month or two ago about scaling without automation (very rough paraphrasing) points to the fact that this does not always hold.

> The latest trendy programming language won't make your hard problem all that much easier to solve.

Maybe not the latest, but I would think that it was way easier to develop a desktop app in C++ than Fortran, develop a website in PHP than C++, develop a web app in Ruby than PHP, etc. Tech definitely improves over time. Jumping on every third bandwagon seems to be worthwhile.

> A complex system can't be properly integrated and tested in two weeks (as recent news reports have shown).

> The CEO setting an arbitrary deadline doesn't magically alter the laws of physics.

These are not engineering problems, but political/administration problems that have been around forever and in every endeavor. I am certain that stone masons building cathedrals dealt with the same sorts of incompetent management, despite a dedication to craftsmanship and engineering.