Reducing Emergencies
In a recent SHAPE post, Jerry said:
I replied:
One of the things I like to do is at the beginning of a project, especially if we're not altogether sure what people want, even if we know they want it "really fast" is to ask developers and testers to fix and verify defects. Just take stuff off the open defect queue and start working on it.
This works in several ways:
My technique won't prevent more emergencies, but it helps reduce them.
notice how failing to clean up old projects in an emergency leads to more emergencies in the future, which then lessens the already low chances of cleaning up old projects.
Cure: Setting aside sacred time for cleaning up old projects, starting with the worst emergency-maker first.
I replied:
One of the things I like to do is at the beginning of a project, especially if we're not altogether sure what people want, even if we know they want it "really fast" is to ask developers and testers to fix and verify defects. Just take stuff off the open defect queue and start working on it.
This works in several ways:
- It gets people back in the frame of mind of fixing things so maybe they won't make mistakes like that again. (For me, this is why editing gets me moving for writing.)
- People look busy, so I can keep the number of stupid requests down.
- When we start eliminating technical debt at the beginning of the project, people are less likely to allow anyone's actions to let them incur technical debt at the end of the project.
My technique won't prevent more emergencies, but it helps reduce them.
