This survey is out of my curiosity -- and to tap into what more accomplished and experienced developers think about this topic.<p>Also, if you think it's critical, what are the most important elements to consider?
As with so many things, the answer is "it depends". How long will your code be around before it's scrapped or fully rewritten? Who will be maintaining and extending it? How much money will you have on hand to hire people to work on it? If it fails, what's at risk? Lives? Nest eggs? Blog posts?