Junk Model Vs Prime Model of Software Development

Daksh Gupta
Feb 2
3 min read

Imagine you're hungry and you have two choices before you:

You could purchase and consume junk food, which is easily accessible, faster and generally less expensive.
Alternatively, you could opt for a home-cooked or freshly prepared meal, which requires more time and might be more costly than junk food.

Irrespective of the choice you make, the output will remain the same i.e. you hunger will be satisfied.

The outcomes however, will not be same and won't be apparent right away and can take anywhere from months to years to manifest, varying according to the decisions you make.

If we decide to go with the choice of junk food for a longer durations, then as a result, we'll need more and more support in terms of medicines or assistance to be able to do things what is expected out of us.

Software Development Model(s)

Just as stated above, similar choices are also available in the world of software development.

Consider hunger as a software requirement, which can be implemented using one of the two available models: the Junk Model or the Prime Model.

In the Junk Model, the implementation resembles the consumption of junk food, where the choice of implementation relies on readily available and quicker constructs, achievable at the lowest possible cost.
In the Prime Model, the implementation will be meticulously selected to ensure the software remains scalable and sustainable. These decisions typically incur higher costs and require more time.

However, since the immediate output (and not the outcome) of both the models will be same, going ahead will the junk model is the obvious choice (of course nobody calls it junk) and this is not an exception, all organizations and leaders are more or less inclined towards it.

Why Junk Model is Preferred?

We're living in a world of instant gratification, and since junk model produces attention-grabbing keywords such as

Finishing tasks quickly
Finishing tasks at a lower cost..

and so on, it overshadows nearly everything, including all logical and rationale arguments.

These keywords can easily turn someone into a hero and assist in obtaining a better appraisal, therefore, institutional support is increasingly difficult to secure.

Isn't Junk Model is similar to implementing with technical debt(s)?

Unfortunately, we've come up with nice name called "Technical Debt" to cover up pretty much all the not so good decisions that were made regarding the implementation.

I apologize, but working within the Junk Model differs from dealing with technical debt. A debt can be settled at any future time, whereas, similar to physical health, once your software's health declines, it cannot be restored.

The only solution is to start afresh.

But cost is a concern and will always trumps Prime Model?

Yes, cost is a concern and it should and must, there is no way one can sustain by offering a better solution at a higher price point, you need to match or be around the competition or provide a better intangible value to validate the price point

Indeed, we don't live in a perfect world, but that doesn't mean software development should always rely on the Junk Model of development. The key is finding a balance between Junk and Prime models, and this is where leadership skills become crucial.

The Leadership quotient

Many a time people ask what is meant to be a leader or how can we identify a leader? Here is my take on this

A leader consistently focuses on the outcomes, whereas a follower or non-leader tends to concentrate on the output.

Therefore, a leader, even when making decisions based on output, will still contribute to the broader outcome they aim to achieve. They have their vision and goals clear in their mind and occasional compromises are required depending upon the market needs and customer requirements.

However, just as nobody will die just by skipping a meal of junk food, a good leader will avoid going with the junk model wherever possible.

What about the Cost Factor?

If a software is living for a few years a prime model of software development will always trumps junk model in the longer run.

Overtime, the cost of maintaining the junk gets higher and higher in terms of debugging, adding new features, training people and maintaining stale code because people are using it.

I hope the characteristic of Junk Model and Prime Model is clear, please choose your development model wisely..

Thanks for Reading

Daksh..