We spoke of always-small-always-improve (ASAI), arguing for it as strategy against big-bang-change (BBC). In another part of the forest, someone has asked the question, "what if the cost of delay for starting small instead of going big is extreme?" A situation where a BBC is better because the cost of delay implementing ASAI is extreme […]
ASAI: What If That Takes A Long Time? Read More »
A little coaching theory today, eh? Coaches seek to change how things go. They see what is here and they think it could be better. In fact, they usually think it could be rather dramatically better — not worth the trouble of being a coach if not. And our clients want us to make things
Always-Small-Always-Improve: A Coaching Vision Read More »
This branching thing. The idea behind branching is that it provides advantages in situations where a code change is large. The idea behind non-branching is not to enter those situations. These two views seem very difficult to reconcile. I am a non-brancher. I push to head, I pull from head, I test on head, I
The Baseless Critique Of Living Branchlessly Read More »
I mentioned endpointing yesterday. I’m always using geepaw-isms & expecting people to know what I mean. Endpointing is over-focus on eventual destination. In s/w, it’s seeing development as a long trip to a known destination on a known map. John Winthrop, a few centuries back, used "the city on the hill" to describe an endpoint,
Endpointing vs. Next-Stepping Read More »
Of all the bad advice the geek trades inherit from over-simplified manufacturing & engineering, perhaps the worst: "avoid changing code". Take a minute, and think of all the things the trade does to avoid changing code. Virtually every element of "big design up front" policy is based in this view. Long stretches for analysis, longer
“Avoid Changing Code” Should Be Avoided Read More »
The ‘idols of the schema’ is a geepaw-ism, and deserves some background & explanation. When we value the simplicity & clarity of an idea over the complexity & muddiness of its referent, we’re caught in an idol of the schema. Sir Francis Bacon was an english noble, a famous lawyer, and author of the Novum
Idols of the Schema: Ignoring Data While Overvaluing Ideas Read More »
Purpose is the P in RAMPS. Purpose as motivator is about the sense an individual has that she’s contributing to a greater mission shared by many. Both attributes matter: mission must be of a higher order than any individual’s whim, & it must be felt to be shared by the whole team. Purpose is really
Purpose As Motivator: The P in RAMPS Read More »
Rhythm is the R in RAMPS. Let’s take a look. Rhythm is about tension & release. It is the sense one has of readying, girding, coiling, then taking that stored energy & sending it out. We’ll get to music in a second, tho maybe in a way that will surprise you. But let’s start with
Rhythm as Urgency: The R in RAMPS Read More »
Let’s do Safety, the S in the recent RAMPS as motivational force series. Safety is hard to get at in one summary sentence, but i’ll try. Safety is the sense we have that we belong: that we’re trusted, valued-in-spite-of, inside a team that welcomes our strange unruly selves. At its simplest, this sense manifests as
Safety as Motivator: The S in RAMPS Read More »
Let’s talk about the A from RAMPS today: Autonomy. Autonomy is "simple not easy," just like the rest of the motivating forces. Autonomy is the sense of an individual that she is free to work the best way she knows how to achieve the tasks in front of her. We call self-driving cars "autonomous". We
Autonomy: How Freedom Correlates To Urgency Read More »
