>Article makes a false premise: that speed of writing the first version is important.

In my experience, project managers care more about how long it's going to take to build than about how maintainable it is. It's literally always the first question they ask:

"How long do you think this will take you?"

I don't believe I've ever heard anyone in management ask, "How maintainable will this be?" I'll ask around. I bet none of my peers have gotten that question either.