Some Things Just Take Time
I learned recently that an elephant's gestation period is 18 months. It takes 18 months for an elephant to have a baby elephant.
It's also a fact that three elephants can't make a baby elephant in six months. There is no shortcut; it takes one elephant 18 months.
The same is true for software development projects. Often I'll hear my clients say, "Can't we just hire more people to get this work done faster?" And unfortunately, frequently the answer is "no."
There could be any number of reasons for this, from dependencies (e.g., we can't develop Z until Y is built and we can't build Y until X is finished...) to actual resources (e.g., Martha is the only developer who can do that work; training up someone new would take longer than Martha doing it alone).
This shouldn't stop you from asking the question "Is there anything we can do to speed this up?" But sometimes we just have to acknowledge that a project is going to take as long as the project takes, no matter how many additional resources we throw at it.
Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives
Always ask “Why?”
Always ask “Why?” Little kids ask “Why?” all the time, because they are sponges for …
Averages hide the extremes
Averages hide the extremes I can’t remember where I first heard it, but “averages hide …
Look up PARTIAL names!
Look up PARTIAL names! Train your staff to do look ups on partial names, not full …
Not Just Technology
Not Just Technology There was recently a discussion on the ASAE online community about project management …
Consider quitting
Consider quitting Patient: “Doctor, it hurts when I do this.” Doctor: “Then stop doing that.” …
There is nothing so permanent as business rules
There is nothing so permanent as business rules Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman said, “There’s nothing …
Budget for feature discovery and adoption
Budget for feature discovery and adoption When developing a budget for implementation of a new …
Customize staff pages for better user adoption
Customize staff pages for better user adoption The single most important element to data management …
Don’t ask questions for which you already know the answer
Don’t ask questions for which you already know the answer I was recently completing an …
Don’t ask questions for which you already know the answer Read More »
All decisions involve risk
All decisions involve risk Whether it’s choosing a new AMS or introducing a new product …