A waterfall development life cycle, based on an assumption of a relatively stable business
environment, becomes overwhelmed by high change. Planning is one of the most difficult
concepts for engineers and managers to reexamine. For those raised on the science of
reductionism (reducing everything to its component parts) and the near-religious belief that careful
planning followed by rigorous engineering execution produces the desired results (we are in
control), the idea that there is no way to "do it right the first time" remains foreign. The word
"plan," when used in most organizations, indicates a reasonably high degree of certainty about the
desired result. The implicit and explicit goal of "conformance to plan" restricts a manager's ability
to steer the project in innovative directions.