Ad Hoc Methods
Ad hoc methods refer to improvised, situation-specific approaches to problem-solving in software development, often created on-the-fly without formal planning or established best practices. They are typically used for quick fixes, prototyping, or addressing unique, one-off scenarios where standard solutions are unavailable or impractical. While flexible, these methods can lead to technical debt, inconsistencies, and maintenance challenges if overused in production systems.
Developers should use ad hoc methods primarily in exploratory phases, debugging, or when dealing with novel problems that lack predefined solutions, such as rapid prototyping or emergency patches. They are valuable for temporary workarounds or when time constraints prevent implementing a more robust solution, but should be documented and later replaced with systematic approaches to ensure long-term code quality and scalability.