I’ve worked on a lot of releases that have come down the wire. Not always a great trend, but in what I do, it can happen. However, the best part when it happens, is when you have a team with you, you’re all in it together, it’s late, you’re trying to close the last bug, run the last test, give it one more shot. I’ve been in these situations as the jr developer, the tech lead, the manager and more and each time you know you’re going to make it through because you have a great team beside you. And it’s at that moment that it hits you…
The only way we’re going to ship is with everyone who is a part of this team.
And everyone is accepting of that which is great. The next day, you ship, everyone is happy, possibly some big pats on the back, “you broke the rules and fought through, congrats”, “you pushed the envelope and never gave up”.
Everyone is thanking each other, but no one is thanking the development process that got you there?
For all the different methodologies out there, I have never seen a piece of software that shipped where someone said – “Well, thanks to the process, we were a success and shipped on time” – never have and I doubt I ever will. It’s always about the people (and sometimes about the rules they broke to get it done while persevering to make it a success).
So if the process isn’t the first person that you thank after shipping a project, why make it so complex? If it is really that invisible member of the team that just hums along while you are working and knows when to back down when things are going south, why make it ever present in your daily life?
And maybe that’s the point, maybe it shouldn’t be so in your face, but just there, in the background, ready to help or ready to get out of the way, flexible yet structured, simple but powerful?
But just remember, for all the effort that you put into the that process, at the end of the day it’s going to come down to the people on your team and how they rise to the occasion to ship your latest project.
