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-title: Software development and my favorite pitfalls
-url: software-development-pitfalls.html
-date: 2015-11-10T12:00:00+02:00
-draft: false
----
-
-Over the years I had the privilege to work on some very excited projects both in
-software development field and also in electronics field and every experience
-taught me some invaluable lessons about how NOT TO approach development. And
-through this post I will try to point out some absurd, outdated techniques I
-find the most annoying and damaging during a development cycle. There will be
-swearing because this topic really gets on my nerves and I never coherently
-tried to explain them in writing. So if I get heated up, please bear with me.
-
-As new methods of project management are emerging, underlying processes still
-stay old and outdated. This is mainly because we as people are unable to
-completely shift away from these approaches.
-
-I was always struggling with communication, and many times that cost me a
-relationship or two because I was not on the ball all the time. Through every
-experience, I became more convinced that I am the problem and never ever doubted
-that the problem may be that communication never evolved a single step from
-emails. And if you think for a second, not many things have changed around this
-topic. We just have different representations of email (message boards, chats,
-project management tools). And I believe this is the real issue we are facing
-now.
-
-There are many articles written about hyper connectivity and the effects that
-are a direct result of it. But mainstream does nothing towards it. We are just
-putting out fires, and we do nothing to prevent it. I am certain this will be a
-major source of grief in coming years. And what we all can do to avoid this is
-to change our mindset and experiment on our communication skills, development
-approaches. We need to maximize possible output that a person can give. And to
-achieve this we need to listen to them, encourage them. I know that not
-everybody is a naturally born leader, but with enough practice and encouragement
-they also can become active participants in leadership.
-
-There are many talks now about methodologies such as Scrum, Kanban, Cleanroom
-and they all fucking piss me of :). These are all boxes that imprison people and
-take away their freedom of thought. This is a straightforward mindfuck /
-amputation of creativity.
-
-Let me list a couple of things that I find really destructive and bad for a
-project and in a long run company.
-
-## Ping emails
-
-Ping emails are emails you have to write as soon as you receive an email. Its
-sole purpose is to inform the sender that you received their email, and you are
-working on it. Its result is only to calm down the sender that their task is
-being dealt with. It’s intent basically is, I did my job by sending you this
-email, so I am on clear grounds. I categorize this email as fuck you email.
-This is one of the most irritating types of emails I need to write. This is the
-ultimate control freak show you can experience, and it gives the sender a false
-feeling of control. Newsflash: We do not live in 1982 where there was a
-possibility that email never reached the destination. I really hate this from
-the bottom of my heart.
-
-They should be like: “Yes, I am fucking alive, and I am at your service my
-leash!”. I guess if I would reply like this, I wouldn’t have to write any more
-of this kind of messages.
-
-## Everybody is a project manager
-
-Well, this is a tough one. I noticed that as soon as you let people to give
-their suggestions, you are basically screwed. There is a truth in the saying:
-“Give low expectations and deliver little more than you promised.”.
-
-People tend to take a role of a manager as soon as they are presented with an
-opportunity. And by getting angry at them, you only provoke yourself. They are
-not at fault. You just need to tell them they are only giving suggestions and
-not tasks at the beginning and everything will be alright. But if you give them
-a feeling that they are in control, you will have immense problems explaining
-why their features are not in current release.
-
-Project mission must be always leading project requirements and any deviation
-from it will result in major project butchering. And by this, I mean that the
-project will get its own path, and you will be left with half done software that
-helps nobody. Clear mission goals and clean execution will allow you to develop
-software will clear intent.
-
-## We are never wrong
-
-I find this type of arrogance the worst. We must always conduct ourselves that
-we are infallible and cannot make mistakes. As soon as a procedure or process is
-established, there is no room for changes or improvements. This is the most
-idiotic thing someone can say of think. I think that processes need to involve
-and change over time. This is imperative and need to have in your organization
-if you want to improve and develop company. We all need to grow balls and change
-everything in order to adapt to current situations. Being a prisoner of
-predefined processes kills creativity.
-
-I am constantly trying new software for project managing and communication.  I
-believe every team has its own dynamic, and it needs to be discovered
-organically and naturally through many experiments. By putting the team in a
-box, you are amputating their creativity and therefore minimizing their
-potential. But if you talk to an executive, you will mainly find archetypical
-thinking and a strong need to compartmentalize everything from business
-processes to resource management. And this type of management that often
-displays micromanagement techniques only works for short periods (couple of
-years) and then employees either leave the company or become basically retarded
-drones on autopilot.
-
-## Micromanaging
-
-This basically implies that everybody on the team is an idiot who needs to have
-a to-do list that they cannot write themselves. How about spoon-feeding the team
-at launch because besides the team leader, everybody must be a retarded idiot at
-best?
-
-I prefer milestones as they give developers much more freedom and creativity in
-developing and not waste their time checking some bizarre to-do list that was
-not even thought through. Projects constantly change throughout the development
-cycle, and all you are left at the end is a list of unchecked tasks and the
-wrath of management why they are not completed. Best WTF moment!
-
-## Human contact — no need for it!
-
-We are vigorously trying to eliminate physical contact by replacing short
-meetings with software, with no regards that we are not machines. Many times a
-simple 5-min meeting at morning can solve most of the problems. In rapid
-development, short bursts of man to man communication is possibly the best way
-to go.
-
-We now have all this software available, and all what we get out of it is a
-giant clusterfuck. An obstacle and not a solution. So, why we still use them?
-
-## MVP is killing innovation
-
-Many will disagree with me on this one, but I stand strong by this statement.
-What I noticed in my experience that all this buzz words around us only mislead
-and capture us in a circle of solving issues that already have a solution, but
-we are unable to see it without using some fancy word for it.
-
-The toughest thing to do for a developer is to minimize requirements. Well, this
-is though only for bad developers. Yes, I said it. There are many types of
-developers out there. And those unable to minimize feature scope are the ones
-you don’t need on your team. Their only goal is to solve problems that exist
-only in their heads. And then you have to argue with them, and waste energy on
-them, instead of developing your awesome product. They are a cancer and I
-suggest you cut them off.
-
-MVP as an idea is great, but sadly people don’t understand underlying
-philosophy, and they spent too much time focusing and fixating on something that
-every sane person with normal IQ will understand without some made up
-acronym. And the result is a lot of talking and barely no execution.
-
-Well, MVP is not directly killing innovation, but stupid people do when they try
-to understand it.
-
-## Pressure wasteland
-
-You must never allow to be pressured into confirming a deadline if you are not
-confident. We often feel a need that we are in service of others, which is true
-to some extent. But it is also true that others are in service to us to some
-extent. And we forget this all the time. We are all pressured all the time to
-make decisions just to calm other people down. And when they leave your office
-you experience WTF moment :) How the hell did they manage to fuck me up again?
-
-People need to realize that the more pressure you put on somebody, the less they
-will be able to do. So 5-min update email requests will only resolve in mental
-breakdown and inability to work that day. Constant poking is probably the only
-thing I lose my mind instantly. For all you that are doing this: “Stop bothering
-us with your insecurities and let us do our job. We will do it quicker and
-better without you breathing down our necks.”
-
-If this happens to me, I end up with no energy at the end. Don’t you get it?
-You will get much more from and out of me if you ask me like a human person and
-not your personal butler. On a long run, you are destroying your relationships
-and nobody would want to work with you. Your schizophrenic approach will damage
-only you in a long run. Nobody is anybody’s property.
-
-## Conclusion
-
-I am guilty of many things described in this post. And I find it hard sometimes
-to acknowledge this. And I lie to myself and try vigorously to find some
-explanation why I do these things. There is always space for growth. And maybe
-you will also find some of yourself in this post and realize what needs to
-change for you to evolve.