Think before re-inventing the wheel

There are rare occasions when an exceptionally bright and innovative person comes along and actually builds a better 'mousetrap.'  My friend Ken Smith is one such person. Ken is the inventor of SmartPlug. Anyone with a boat that connects to shore power has experienced the aggravation of lining up the 3 keyed prongs in the dark, over-heated and burnt out receptacles, and cross threading the sealing ring on those circular Marinco power inlets. Finally, Ken came up with a better design that offers a safer solution for shore power. But, Ken has owned boats for much of his life, and he has been in the marine industry for 38 years. His invention was based on years of personal and industry experience coupled with the knowledge and experience of several other boat owners and electrical experts.

So, I am often amused (not in a funny way) by people who are relatively new to the industry who decide to build yet another automation testing framework or test tool. Unfortunately, many of these 'new' and 'innovative solutions are simply rewrites of existing frameworks or tools. Sometimes they may introduce a new and useful feature, but mostly it is just another 'mousetrap.' Often these "new" mousetraps are designed and developed to solve problems that are unique to a specific team or product. But, rather than building on existing frameworks or tools some people seem compelled to completely re-invent the wheel and then want to promote 'their' solution as the holy grail (which, of course, are not compatible with any existing solution).

Upon recently seeing another such proposal for yet another test automation framework I decided that I would also join the re-invention foray and provide a "new, and innovative" solution myself. Now, I need to ballyhoo my revolutionary project in order to gain greater adoption and win political points with the not-so-clued-in managers who actually think completely redesigning a mousetrap over and over again by inexperienced people working in isolation is a good idea as a way to motivate people who are bored.

So, without further ado, here is my announcement for the new, exciting, and revolutionary Wheeleze!

“I am wasting precious time and mindless resources working on yet another needless re-invention for which I don’t yet have the breadth of experience or span of influence to succeed, but it is really cool and fun and I don't have to work on other stuff that I think is boring. I call my senseless re-invention “Wheeleze. ” Let me tell you about my new innovative solution that solves the problem of transporting various cargo over land.  Wheels are already in common use and provide effective solutions to the transportation problem, but there are several different types of wheels in existance and everyone knows there should only be one wheel because having several different types of wheels is expensive and it is mind-numbing to keep track of which wheel should be used in which specific context. In contrast, Wheeleze will replace all of these existing wheels with one easily adaptable and extensible solution. And, although there are some other wheel type solutions being developed in isolated pockets around the world that are also claiming to optimize rolling, Wheeleze is really new and different. (Really, it is, and if I get enough people to say it enough everyone else will believe it). As the name suggests, Wheeleze is intended to make rolling easier by providing a vehicle agnostic, intuitive, simple to use, modular solution to roll public and private conveyances down paved, cement, gravel, dirt, and even sand roadways. Best of all, Wheeleze can be recycled as fenders on tug boats, can be buried in playgrounds for children to climb on, or have one side turned inside out to form red-neck flower planters. This innovate and unique solution optimizes reuse and minimizes landfill waste. Wheeleze is destined to revolutionize the wheel industry.  Wheeleze is fully globalized and I even have a localized version called “Wheelese” for non-US English markets (such as Canada, Ireland, England, and Australia). Wheeleze is an attempt to eliminate duplication of effort because nobody would ever dream of recreating another wheel after using Wheeleze. My new, unique, and innovate Wheeleze is designed for unicycles, bicycles, oxen-carts, wagons, cars, sports-utility vehicles, light trucks, tractor trailers, combines, and even wheelbarrows. I am also planning to extend the Wheeleze to support motorboats, canoes, and surfboards. (NOTE: Wheeleze on a surfboard appears to be similar to a skateboard, but they really are different.. .you can't surf on a skateboard!) Unfortunately there is no plan to support Wheeleze on sailboats (the keels present too hard of a problem that I don't know how to solve, and of course I don't want to ask anyone else for help because this solution is mine) because sailboats are tool slow and "old tech" and most people will probably not want wheels on a sailboat anyway. Please visit http://www.anothercompletelystupidwasteoftime.com for more information.”

Comments

• Anonymous
  September 17, 2008
  In other words, your friend Ken's invention came about because of a need?  Thus proving that necessity really IS the mother of invention.  :)

• Anonymous
  September 17, 2008
  Hi Tammy, I agree in principle, but... Last year, I needed new sails for my boat. Although I wanted to increase the roach on the main and add full-battens I didn't invent anything. I researched sail designs and materials and consulted with an expert sail-maker to apply existing patterns to solve my problem of blown out sails and my need for new sails. Although I have been sailing for many decades and I know various sail patterns and shapes, I also know that I don't know how to invent new sail patterns and any attempt would simply be a re-invention of existing designs.

• Anonymous
  September 30, 2008
  That explains it!  Regressions come about because developers reinvent programs that shouldn't have been reinvented, and they don't get caught because testers think instead of reinventing. Here was my Usenet signature about 20 years ago: Why are programmers criticized for reinventing the wheel, when car manufacturers are praised for it?

• Anonymous
  October 02, 2008
  The comment has been removed