Sometimes I get e-mail at work where the thread consists of a long chain of short messages, and in order to determine the needed response, it is necessary to contemplate the thread from beginning to end. This is especially heinous in corporations where required e-mail sigs and disclaimers are chunky. As each person adds their…
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Chicken and egg
I continually argue with myself about whether tools or process should come first… Adding process without tools makes it hard to enforce process rules, implement consistently, or measure compliance. Adding tools without clear process definition is also futile, as people tend to use tools differently, and tools can impose limitations on process that make later…
Rest
This project has been a fight. Fighting with customers, fighting with the team, fighting with the technology. I think everyone involved feels pretty beat up. At the end, I look at the accomplishment and say to myself – it’s getting pretty good. I need a rest. I want the customer to take advantage of the…
Reality
Spent the weekend (really the last two weeks) preparing to engage some business partners on a project whose plan got somewhat sideways. Original estimates were smaller than really required. Requirements took much longer to elicit because the business vision was not complete, nor were all that participated invested in a vision. There has been a…
The sniff test
When someone asks you to do something different or unusual, it must pass the “sniff” test. Is what this person is asking “reasonable”. Does the accommodation represent a material departure from process/protocol/custom that may/will have impact in other ways? Is it a one time deal, or setting a new precedent? Is the cost worth the…
The plan
The plan is the set of steps to get to “done”. What happens when there is not enough time or money to get to “done”? We can stop and adjust the schedule – making more time. We can decide to spend the money. We can decide that “done” means something different that costs less or…
The plot
Sometimes people we work with and communicate with “lose the plot”. They forget the mission. They misconceptualize the conversation. Sometimes it is because we are not conversing frequently enough – and our thinking has evolved differently from theirs. Other times we are unaware of other issues that may be urgently pressing the other person. Occasionally…
The Gulf of Uncertainty
Passage across the gulf is difficult. It is too wide and deep to bridge, and unpredictable weather makes surface travel risky at best. Two modes of travel are common: 1) Individual swimmers – those of unusual strength and skill are able to cross. Sometimes carrying many along with them as if on their back. It…
Clear mind covalence
“Clearer minds prevail” – I have heard this phrase uttered as a hope recently. Let’s hope that clearer minds prevail. It expresses a desire for those who understand (as we do or better) to triumph over those who may be confused, ignorant, hold hidden agendas (different from our own) or are just plain stupid. What…
Setbacks
Sometimes when we think things are rolling along, or going according to plan, or even before we get going, something unexpected happens. It can be anything that appears to impede our progress, add work, make work less fun, reduce our confidence, etc. The impact of the setback can be obvious or subtle; easy or hard…