December 19, 2012 at 19:17Bartenders, relay and pearing
Analyzing the year 2012 (before the end of the world, wah!), I understand that the six weeks of downtime that fell to me in March due to a knee injury gave me very, very much.
Firstly, I had a good rest.
Secondly, I was finally able to do what I could not do for many years. Namely, finding time for a low-priority and completely non-critical task is to learn ruby on rails.
Thirdly, I not only mastered the rails, but also wrote a service for SCRUMguides, which we have been using for 9 months now. For some reason, the professional hiring workers we hired in 2010-2011 turned out to be much worse.
Maybe it's all about the knee?
Or is it all that no one urged me, I did what I thought was necessary to do, at the pace at which I could work and did not pursue results? Incidentally, it still amazes me that our confeture.com has already survived two major conferences. And survived! Of course, this is an unfinished product. This is an launched product - a minimal viable product - and it still has everything ahead, including serious UX refactoring.
But this is not about the product. It's about what DeMarco calls "Slack . "
I do not advise you to tear the knee ligaments - it is expensive. But I want to offer you two metaphors that recently help me in training to explain the benefits of workers downtime .
1. How often do you see bartenders wiping glasses?
I’m constantly (well, I mean, when I sit opposite the bar counter). They really do this all the time. I wonder is it nervous? Is it like a tiger in a cage that constantly walks around the perimeter?
No, bartenders do this with utmost attention and importance. And I don’t know about you, but it always gives me pleasure to look at them at this time. As in other things and use icy mojito from a clean glass.
Why are we so afraid to leave our teams for a few dayswithout work between sprints. Do you really have dirty dishes, dirty code, or at least ideas for "playing around"?
Our training has the following case: “what if the product woner did not show up for sprint planning?” 90% of participants believe that it is worth starting a sprint without it. Why? In order not to stand idle . But isn’t it better to wipe the glasses or scrub the floor in McDonald's than to prepare an unnecessary cocktail or bigmac for the release? You decide.
2. How long have you participated in the relay?
Probably the last time at school in a physical education lesson ... But even if you had it fifteen years ago like mine, you still remember the expectation of the transfer.
I really don’t remember at all how it was, but I can easily imagine myself as a baton ...
I pull my hand. My friend will run to me just a little bit more. I grab his wand and start. Actually, this is not a stick. But there is no time to think, you need to tear with all your might. Moreover, about fifty meters ahead my second friend is nervously waiting for me. He is immobilized and looks at me with utmost attention. No, not on me, on a stick . He still does not know that this is no wand ... But there is no time to think. I rush as quickly as possible, knowing that now all the girls in the class are looking at me (yes, she too). But there is no time to think ... And now, after five seconds, I stand with my hands on my knees and wait until normal breathing returns to me. At this time, my friends bring this shitty stick to the finish line.
What are the spectators watching during the relay? What is our physical teacher looking at all the time? That the baton was in motion all the time. Only in this way will the team achieve the best result. Even if for this, most of the team has to stand idle .
Now you know what the bartender, the baton and the pounding of pears have in common. This is SLACK. Get a tattoo with that word or something?
But no, it will not work, no time.
Something like this.
Your Cree I
stand by you, my dears.
And take care of your knees.
Firstly, I had a good rest.
Secondly, I was finally able to do what I could not do for many years. Namely, finding time for a low-priority and completely non-critical task is to learn ruby on rails.
Thirdly, I not only mastered the rails, but also wrote a service for SCRUMguides, which we have been using for 9 months now. For some reason, the professional hiring workers we hired in 2010-2011 turned out to be much worse.
Maybe it's all about the knee?
Or is it all that no one urged me, I did what I thought was necessary to do, at the pace at which I could work and did not pursue results? Incidentally, it still amazes me that our confeture.com has already survived two major conferences. And survived! Of course, this is an unfinished product. This is an launched product - a minimal viable product - and it still has everything ahead, including serious UX refactoring. But this is not about the product. It's about what DeMarco calls "Slack . "
| From English, a google translator translates “slack” as “sagging”, “lull” or “beating baclush”. Pounding is more to my liking. Besides that, from pears you can cook excellent jam. And if you're lucky, then candy! |
I do not advise you to tear the knee ligaments - it is expensive. But I want to offer you two metaphors that recently help me in training to explain the benefits of workers downtime .
1. How often do you see bartenders wiping glasses?
I’m constantly (well, I mean, when I sit opposite the bar counter). They really do this all the time. I wonder is it nervous? Is it like a tiger in a cage that constantly walks around the perimeter?
No, bartenders do this with utmost attention and importance. And I don’t know about you, but it always gives me pleasure to look at them at this time. As in other things and use icy mojito from a clean glass.
Why are we so afraid to leave our teams for a few dayswithout work between sprints. Do you really have dirty dishes, dirty code, or at least ideas for "playing around"?
Our training has the following case: “what if the product woner did not show up for sprint planning?” 90% of participants believe that it is worth starting a sprint without it. Why? In order not to stand idle . But isn’t it better to wipe the glasses or scrub the floor in McDonald's than to prepare an unnecessary cocktail or bigmac for the release? You decide.
2. How long have you participated in the relay?
Probably the last time at school in a physical education lesson ... But even if you had it fifteen years ago like mine, you still remember the expectation of the transfer. I really don’t remember at all how it was, but I can easily imagine myself as a baton ...
I pull my hand. My friend will run to me just a little bit more. I grab his wand and start. Actually, this is not a stick. But there is no time to think, you need to tear with all your might. Moreover, about fifty meters ahead my second friend is nervously waiting for me. He is immobilized and looks at me with utmost attention. No, not on me, on a stick . He still does not know that this is no wand ... But there is no time to think. I rush as quickly as possible, knowing that now all the girls in the class are looking at me (yes, she too). But there is no time to think ... And now, after five seconds, I stand with my hands on my knees and wait until normal breathing returns to me. At this time, my friends bring this shitty stick to the finish line.
What are the spectators watching during the relay? What is our physical teacher looking at all the time? That the baton was in motion all the time. Only in this way will the team achieve the best result. Even if for this, most of the team has to stand idle .
Now you know what the bartender, the baton and the pounding of pears have in common. This is SLACK. Get a tattoo with that word or something?
But no, it will not work, no time.
Something like this.
Your Cree I
stand by you, my dears.
And take care of your knees.