Intuition in software development

Abstract

A characterization of the pervasiveness of intuition in human conscious life is given, followed by some remarks on successes and failures of intuition. Next the intuitive basis of common notions of scales, logic, correctness, texts, reasoning, and proofs, is described. On this basis the essential notions of data models of human activity and of software development, as built on human intuition, are discussed. This leads to a discussion of software development methods, viewed as means to overcoming the hazards of intuitive actions. It is concluded that programmers' experience and integrity are more important than their use of methods.