Chinese Idiom Stories for Software Professionals: #20 Opposite effect to one’s intention (南辕北辙）
Direction is more important than Speed.
This article is one of the “Chinese Idiom Stories for Software Professionals” series.
Story
Once a man wanted to go to the south, but his carriage was heading north. A passer-by asked him: “If you are going to the south, why is your chariot heading north? ”
The man answered, “My horse is good at running, my driver is highly skilled at driving a carriage, and I have enough money. ”
The man didn’t consider that the direction might be wrong; the good as his conditions were, the further he was away from his destination.
Meaning
Direction is more important than speed. Moving slowly in the right direction is better than fast in the wrong one.
Examples in Software Development
There are plenty of examples of the ‘Opposite effect to one’s intention (南辕北辙)’ in software development.
1. Management
A classic example is
“Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.” — “The…
