The product would look like a jigsaw puzzle of mismatched pieces if it was not managed well. There would have to be design reviews, strategy sessions, and documentation to make it work. Both Microsoft and Netscape did this, and they built-in extra schedule buffers to absorb setbacks. Instead of slipping release dates when they got close to deadlines, both scaled back product features in order to meet release milestones. Using Synchronize and Stabilize, both companies innovated new technologies, and shipped products to market on time.
Software development is caught in Internet time.
We are no longer shackled to a sequential development process. Development efforts can happen in parallel, and the specification can evolve over time. This is how we adapt to the extraordinary transformation the web has created for us all. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.