The concept known as "worse is better" holds that in software making (and perhaps in other arenas as well) it is better to start with a minimal creation and grow it as needed. Christopher Alexander might call this "piecemeal growth." This is the story of the evolution of that concept.
{This is an essay written in 2010. While I would write it differently today, the topic and questions remain urgent. Most importantly, at the end, there are a series of activities/questions to think...