Thomas Otter

This autumn in Germany has been rather spectacular. (photos thanks to a friend’s visit)

The ruins of the Heidelberg castle are a highlight. 

In about 1880 Mark Twain described it beautifully.

A ruin must be rightly situated, to be effective. This one could not have been better placed. It stands upon a commanding elevation, it is buried in green woods, there is no level ground about it, but, on the contrary, there are wooded terraces upon terraces, and one looks down through shining leaves into profound chasms and abysses where twilight reigns and the sun cannot intrude. Nature knows how to garnish a ruin to get the best effect. One of these old towers is split down the middle, and one half has tumbled aside. It tumbled in such a way as to establish itself in a picturesque attitude. Then all it lacked was a fitting drapery, and Nature has furnished that; she has robed the rugged mass in flowers and verdure, and made it a charm to the eye. The standing half exposes its arched and cavernous rooms to you, like open, toothless mouths; there, too, the vines and flowers have done their work of grace. The rear portion of the tower has not been neglected, either, but is clothed with a clinging garment of polished ivy which hides the wounds and stains of time. Even the top is not left bare, but is crowned with a flourishing group of trees & shrubs. Misfortune has done for this old tower what it has done for the human character sometimes−improved it.  –Mark Twain

Some of the destruction of the castle was in 30 year’s war.

(from wikipedia-image cc)

Its library of 3500 books, one of the biggest of the time, was plundered by General Tilly and taken across the alps to the Vatican.

But a good portion of the damage wasn’t from war, but by two lightning strikes, one in 1537 the other in 1764.

We can learn a lot from the Heidelberg castle

1. Bigger is not necessarily better. The shift in technology brought about by gunpowder made the castle obsolete faster than anyone could have imagined at the time. A mine was able to destroy this wall. The folks that built it would have thought that it was impregnable.

2.. Castles are often built over a long period. The technologies used in the first stage differ from those used later in the process. The end product differs dramatically from the starting plan.

3. Lightning can strike twice.

4.  Ruins have utility, but even ruins need maintenance.

Applying this to a business and IT context.

1.Predicting technology impacts and trends is very difficult to do. Some things shift faster than you imagine, others slower.

2. Threats come from unexpected places.

3. When you build something you can’t control what it is used for.   

4. Brittle and rigid things, when they break, break big.

5. User requirements change during the projects. Scope creep isn’t new.

6. Maintaining can cost more than building.

I wish more software engineers and managers of software companies would look to architecture and history.  The foibles of the software industry can be read in the walls of Heidelberg castle.