Articles for category: Drive

April 16, 2022

Greg Thomas

The Path to Bug Fixes

Fixing bugs isn’t the problem. Figuring out how they occur, now that’s the problem.  That’s where we get hung up and where we spend the bulk of our time.  That’s where we grind the gears trying to figure out what we are doing and what the next should be. And though this is the hardest of steps, it’s the most rewarding, we learn the most from them.  If someone just gave us the answer and told us to put X code in Y line, we would never learn anything.  We would simply learn how to be great cut and pasters

April 12, 2022

Greg Thomas

Separating Code from Ownership

We all hate when our code breaks. You put all this time and energy into creating the most beautiful piece of software known to mankind and then it blows up on the launchpad. It stings.  Even after so many years of programming, it stings. But code is code and it will blow up (I believe this to be its second purpose in life). Owning the problem when this happens is good, blaming yourself and hiding it, is not so good. Own the problem, not the code, conditions change, if you gave it your best effort, great, learn, fix, move forward.

April 8, 2022

Greg Thomas

When it’s no longer a Bug

When you’ve spent an entire day trying to figure out what the issue is, it’s no longer a bug. When it’s going to take longer to fix it, than it did to build it, it’s no longer a bug. When you need to pull in the entire team to diagnose and troubleshoot the issue, it’s no longer a bug. When you are trying things that you aren’t sure are going to work, but hope that they do, it’s no longer a bug. There are many other reasons and scenarios here, the point that matters is that you define when a

April 6, 2022

Greg Thomas

Let the Data Drive Your Sprints

If your team is not inputting data into the work they are doing, then all you are tracking is sticky notes and their movement. Which is fine. But if it’s data you’re after, you need to ensure your team is updating as expected so you have the information to drive what gets pushed out and what can be pulled in. Again, you don’t have to use the data, but make it clear then, that it’s not the data you are after (i.e., perhaps its process or culture change which is valid goals as well).

April 4, 2022

Greg Thomas

Ideas are Fluent

Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t, that is why they are called ideas. You can try them out and sometimes they will work successfully, other times they will blow up in your face and leave a mark on your face. But if you never try to put them into practice, to make something real of them, they will always be just that – an idea. And I think we need something more.