Development war room
Written by Gilad ManorPosted on Wednesday, February 2nd 2009
I had a friend over the other day, one of the smartest people I know and an extraordinary talent. We were reminiscing about the olden days, and we werereminded of the principles we have learnt in the army so long ago. Actually, he was theone being reminded because I was never even close to anything like combat myself. Ashe was reciting his lines I came to think that some of the guidelines may apply tosoftware development. I’ve listed them with some relevant modifications1.
Pursuing on the task at hand, in light of the goal
. Goals have the awful habit of changing all the time: the market is prone to change; your boss might have a suddenchange of heart. Thus tasks may become irrelevant. I found it a good policy to check every once in a while whether what I am doing, is still in concordance with the goal. Another term that might pop into mind would be the word adaptation. Yet, I don’t feelfrom it the conviction of getting the task done.2.
The customer is my supreme commander
. The customer in this case may range fromthe actual person or company that makes use of the product, to the sales department. Allin all, my customer has a wider angle of view on things than I do3.
Creativity and innovation
. While creativity is thinking out of the box, innovation isthe yoking of it to the purpose of the product. It’s a tipsy tread, balancing between both.Creativity without innovation is a waste of time, but there is no innovation withoutcreativity.4.
Never fall in love with your own creativity
. I keep forgetting that one.
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