Rams' 10 principles of good design are properties of the design. This proposed 11th is a property of the process to produce that design. The giveaway is that his question is "how can we do iterative design?" rather than "how can achieve a design that is X?"
I also think Wells is confusing the end product with the architecture, the latter being a product whose consumers are the developers themselves.
An architecture that supports iteration may be deemed good design per Rams if the support for iteration is more useful than if it did not. To developers, that architecture could also be more aesthetic, innovative, long lasting and even environmentally friendly (consuming less resources). Sometimes agile architectures are more understandable, but often they are less so.
Agree. "How can we do iterative design?" seems to be a way of answering "how can we do functional design?" Notice "functional" is not in the 10 principles.
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Rams' 10 principles of good design are properties of the design. This proposed 11th is a property of the process to produce that design. The giveaway is that his question is "how can we do iterative design?" rather than "how can achieve a design that is X?"
I also think Wells is confusing the end product with the architecture, the latter being a product whose consumers are the developers themselves.
An architecture that supports iteration may be deemed good design per Rams if the support for iteration is more useful than if it did not. To developers, that architecture could also be more aesthetic, innovative, long lasting and even environmentally friendly (consuming less resources). Sometimes agile architectures are more understandable, but often they are less so.
Agree. "How can we do iterative design?" seems to be a way of answering "how can we do functional design?" Notice "functional" is not in the 10 principles.