Quotations by Tom DeMarco, Peter Hruschka, Tim Lister, Steve McMenamin, James Robertson and Suzanne Robertson
When you find a project team that is focused on producing a standard document rather than on considering the content of that document, then you are in the land of the template zombies….
In the land of the template zombies, form takes precedence. It is not necessary to think about the content of the document. It is not really necessary to think at all. The important thing is to have something—anything—under each of the prescribed headings. Not surprisingly, template zombies are adept in the art of cutting and pasting and ignoring anything that does not fit the dictates of the template.
If you keep probing, and ask “Precisely what is in the document? What is it for? Who uses it to make which decisions?” then you discover that people do not know why. They are producing the document because it is the next thing to do.
If you recognize this behavior on your project, you may be working in a paper mill.
In a paper mill, every activity is marked by the production of a document, and progress is measured by how many of the documents have been produced—not by what the documents contain. The paper mill principle says: Just in case anyone needs anything, let’s give everbody everything.