On Scenarios That Will Not Happen

While planning the data model for a new functionality, you can always hear two completely different stories. One comes from the “business” people, who focus on happy paths and only care about the majority of the users. The second one comes from the “technical” people, who are responsible for making sure it will work for all users and every single edge case they may come up with. At some point, the decision must be made; ideally within the allocated budget. But what if there’s not enough time or other resources to cover all edge cases? “It won’t happen!”, says the first group. “But what if it will!?”, screams the other.