12.18.08
Posted in Journal, Software Development, Travel at 4:02 pm by Pablosan
I woke up this morning thinking about air travel: maybe because I’m currently working for a company in the travel industry. Maybe it is because I’ve been doing a lot of travel of late. Most likely, it’s a little of both.
The thought that came to mind was this: the problem with airlines today is that they focus too much on the destination and not enough on the journey. The effectiveness of an airline is measured by how many flights arrive on time. As a customer, though, what I will remember far longer is how enjoyable the journey wasn’t. This begins with finding flights and purchasing tickets, which is nothing short of pain on parity with a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. It continues with the Security Theater at the airport, the boarding process (cattle being herded into slaughterhouses are treated with more dignity), having my knees jammed into the seat in front of me for hours, getting off the plane (see previous slaughterhouse comment), and navigating labyrinthine airports, only to wait in line for a taxi or a shuttle. It is a wonder that the whole of the human race doesn’t simply refuse to use air travel: thank you, but I’d rather walk… barefoot… in the snow… uphill both ways… on razor blades.
As I mulled this over I came to realize this is a great analog to Software Development. The “destination” is obvious, as is the “journey”: they are the release and the development process, respectively. Much like the airline industry, most software development projects are judged entirely on the release: did we get all the features we wanted and were they delivered on time? This leads to a myopic focus on features: quantity with little or no substance.
The journey or process, on the other hand, is all about substance. Some might suggest it is also about maintainability, but I consider that a special case of substance.
Both the journey and the destination are important. Focusing too much on one at the expense of the other is unhealthy: taken to the extreme, it is dangerous. As with all things in life, finding and, even more difficult, maintaining a healthy balance between the two is key. This is hard. There is no methodology that can take the place of constant evaluation and simply using your head. As a good friend of mine is fond of saying “You have to think.”
This thought exercise has helped me solidify the three things in my career on which I want to focus:
- Substance: the journey is just as important as the destination.
- Delivery: get the right stuff implemented at the right time (i.e. GTD).
- Critical Thinking: no process, practice, methodology, etc. can take it’s place.
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12.11.08
Posted in Agile, Journal, Teams, Travel at 7:58 am by Pablosan
Today I am wrapping up my visit to London. It has been a great four weeks, though I’m anxious to be back home with my family. Having taught two, very full TDD Courses and coached several teams, I took some time this morning for a personal Retrospective, as my four-week iteration comes to its close.
Of course, while I am in my company’s London office there are still things to be done for the home office. At the top of that priority list right now is, as I’m sure is the case with so many companies in today’s economic climate, a cost-savings initiative. The goal is to have all our courses virtualized in 2009. The idea is that we could make the courses available to more people, more frequently, without incurring the cost of sending the trainers all over the globe. For a company with offices strewn across 5 continents this approach, at least on the surface, seems like a good idea. And, like a good employee that thoroughly enjoys what they do (and appreciates the opportunity to remain gainfully employed), I am giving this new approach a great deal of thought. If this is what I have to do, I want to make the best of it. However, stopping to think this morning, I realized that this move to virtual courses comes at a cost: reduced face time.
During these last four weeks it has been impressed upon me several times, and by several individuals here, that the home office’s willingness to send a “guru” (their word, not mine) to provide training and guidance sends a very strong message: the people here are important to the success of the company. This is quite significant, as this particular office is a part of the company I work for through an acquisition. It is quite common for the people in an acquired company to feel like undesirables. I have seen a shift in their attitude over the last four weeks: call it a spring in their step, the sense of the load being lightened, a renewed sense of belonging. However it is described, it is a very good thing. It is amazing how much more people will accomplish when they feel valued.
There is a second aspect that will also be lost through virtualization. I have made significant inroads in challenging individuals to shift their mindset in small groups over pints in pubs. Two individuals in particular were very opposed to some of the things I teach. I don’t think I changed anyone’s mind, but they are at least considering the possibility that the things I’m teaching might actually have merit. I am convinced that, for these people, that would have never happened in a classroom or in an office setting.
We are social creatures: even down to the most hard-core, introverted, “anti-social” computer geek. The fact that we need to physically be with other human beings cannot be ignored: it’s in our genes. And for this reason, I believe the virtual should enhance the real: not supplant it.
Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to assign a dollar value to these types of benefits and so it is easy for companies to eliminate them: wrong… but easy.
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