The same thing happens with building construction. If you've ever watched a building being built somewhere near where you live or work, you've seen it: Months go by with it as a vacant lot. Then one day someone cuts the weeds down, and there are some flags sitting around. Then tons of time goes by with bulldozers, and then interminable fiddling around with digging holes and foundation laying. No progress is apparent for a long time, then one day, "whoosh!" there's a building there, once the framework goes up.
There, too, the 80/20 rule applies just as it does in software. Because once that framework goes up and there's all this fast progress, the next step is months of finish work where-- from casual observation from the outside, at least-- things look pretty much the same while all the details are wrapped up.
There, too, the 80/20 rule applies just as it does in software. Because once that framework goes up and there's all this fast progress, the next step is months of finish work where-- from casual observation from the outside, at least-- things look pretty much the same while all the details are wrapped up.