Agreed. To stretch the analogy, if I'm just replacing a fence panel or putting up a shelf then I'm not going to get an architect to create a blueprint. I'll know if it's right from the execution.
I sometimes work in areas where the error budget is essentially zero, with an element of concurrency, and for those there is a design stage before the build stage. I could see the value of formal methods there. At least I could execute a model with a model checker, which makes it one step closer to the code than a design doc or RFC.
Full disclosure: I haven't actually used formal methods myself, I've just been interested in the idea for a while and have done some reading on it.
I sometimes work in areas where the error budget is essentially zero, with an element of concurrency, and for those there is a design stage before the build stage. I could see the value of formal methods there. At least I could execute a model with a model checker, which makes it one step closer to the code than a design doc or RFC.
Full disclosure: I haven't actually used formal methods myself, I've just been interested in the idea for a while and have done some reading on it.