Typically I'm a fan of code more, test more, doc less. I've had an experience that changes this perspective.

I went to the local hardware store and got the pricing for the fence and asked about installation. I was recommended a man who checked every box on the Contractor Referral worksheet. After speaking with him on the phone he explained he'd installed fences before but never PVC. He came by our house and checked out the backyard. I mentioned what I'd like the fence to look like. He noted we'd need to have the backyard marked, and then we discussed a price but never formally agreed on him. FWIW, I didn't have anyone else lined up. Anyway the next day he's out back digging holes. No contract, no written agreement, no design. The back line angled such that if you looked down the line it wasn't even with the neighbors, and ~150 sqft of the back yard wouldn't be fenced. I asked him why? He wanted to keep the posts 6' on center. I said why can't we divide a fence panel? He said, oh. So then he had to re-drill the whole backline. Last night my wife asked where the gate would go in the back. The contractor had a hole for the gate dug in the back corner, not the middle. This meant due to the playset with landscaping timbers in the back corner, I'd no longer be able to use a wheelbarrow in the yard. I asked him to move the fence in the middle. He replied the machine had already been returned, but he said he'd make the adjustment manually. It's been raining solid today, so that's where the story ends (for now).

Lessons learned?

Well in this case I have the benefit of a customer who isn't changing requirements. My wife wanted a PVC picket fence with a gate in the middle of the backline. So I can only imagine how stressful it would be if my wife suddenly wanted a wooden fence.

Biggest lesson learned, I have an overzealous delivery team who is acting quickly without direction. I gave "the team" an oral description of what I wanted, but nothing written. The team had to make a decision and didn't consult me. Initial releases had defects. Had a drawn layout been available, we could have avoided the re-digs. He's got plenty of initiative, but making some mistakes that are psuedo-costly. Now I have some patches of lawn that will take time to grow back. He's going to have to dig the hole by hand now that the rented machine is unavailable.

This experience, especially since I'm the one handing out the $$$, has changed my perspective on software engineering, and I'm trying to learn as much as I can from it.