Communication problems within complex projects

lessons learned from real life

Transcript

1. Communication problems within complex projects lessons learned from real life Eugene Pirogov 2014
2. I SUCK! AT COMMUNICATING
3. The Story
4. Input data Computation Output data Project scheme… …was dead simple.
5. Computation! ! = lot of details
6. PROGRAMMING! IS HARD?! ! GO READ THE! DAMN BOOK.
8. COMMUNICATION! IS HARD.! ! YOU ONLY LEARN! EMPIRICALLY.
9. “We need a new big feature!” – every client in the world.
10. Input data Computation Output data 1 Project scheme Output data 2
11. Input data Computation Output data Project scheme
12. Input data — Computation — Output data Project scheme = throuple —
13. “We need a time to refactor first.” – every programmer in the world.
14. After a day or two of thinking it through, I begin to work.
15. During the two period month, it’s Skype, me and client. Summary
16. Summary • 1 man • ~2 months • 3 pull requests • 2/3 pull requests reviewed/merged to master • zero of code is running on prod (waiting for 3rd PR)
17. The 3rd PR is somewhat “tough” to review. ! Hmm…
18. Let’s split it in reviewable parts.
19. Summary • entire team is working • +1 month • 3rd PR is split into 10 smaller PRs • 8/10 smaller PRs are merged • the team is insanely stressed out • zero of code is running on prod
20. “Time’s up!” – every client in the world (probably).
21. The NOT happy ending
22. Summary • the deadline wasn't met – the feature wasn't delivered • all new code was deployed on production, but no new code was actually used • the codebase is a mess • me – super stressed, almost quit • the project is being put on "no new features mode"
23. The Reasons
24. Ridiculous pull requests Reason #1
25. REVIEWS! ARE BLOCKED
26. EVERYONE! GET IRRITATED
27. epicpullrequests.tumblr.com
28. Lack of understanding Reason #2
29. IT’S HARD TO! FOLLOW! WHAT WE ARE! BUILDING
30. No record Reason #3
31. COMMUNICATION! IS! BROKEN
32. NO! DESIGN! DOCS
33. SKYPE! IS! NOT! A WAY! TO DO IT
34. Lack of seniority Reason #4
35. I has the dumb™ Reason #5
36. The Lessons
37. You can’t do everything yourself Lesson #1
38. YOU! ARE! A MEMBER! OF! A TEAM
39. HERO! MODE! OFF
40. IT’S! A STRESS.! ! DO! YOU! WANT! THAT?
41. Always remain on the damn record! Lesson #2
42. COMMUNICATE! IN A! SHARED SPACE.
43. GITHUB.! COMMIT MESSAGES.! PIVOTAL TRACKER.! CAMPFIRE.! ! EMAILS ARE GOOD! BUT NOT GREAT.! ! FUCK SKYPE.
44. Take a step back Lesson #3
45. DO NOT! BLINDLY GO! AFTER CLIENT’S! REQUESTS
46. ONLY! FOOLS! WRITE! CODE! FIRST™
47. blog.reemer.com/why- only-fools-write-code-first
48. Learn to ask & accept feedback Lesson #4
49. TAKE IT GENTLY.! ! TAKE IT WISELY.
50. YOU! ALL ! STRUGGLE! TO MAKE! A BETTER! PRODUCT.
51. OTHER PEOPLE! DISAGREE?! ! IT ONLY MEANS! THEY CARE.
52. You are not your code Lesson #5
53. DO NOT GET! DRIFTED AWAY! BY ASSOCIATING! YOURSELF! TO THE CODE! YOUR PRODUCE.
54. Provide the information Lesson #6
55. IT WILL! SECURE YOU
56. LET! EVERYONE! DO THEIR BEST! TO HELP! YOU
57. GISTs! AND! GOOGLE DOCS! ARE AWESOME
58. WRITE! DOWN! THE STUFF.! ! THEN! SHARE IT.
59. Do not let other people down Lesson #7
60. YOU WILL PAY! BY STRESSING OUT
61. THE TEAM! WILL PAY BY TURNING! INTO A CRUNCH MODE
62. THE CLIENT! WILL PAY,! LITERALLY
63. Talk today and not tomorrow Lesson #8
64. LIFE! IS SHORT! TO WAIT UNTIL! TOMORROW.
65. It’s all my fault Lesson #9
66. ALWAYS! DO! THE! BEST! OF YOU.
67. sivers.org/my-fault
68. Do not fear to do mistakes Lesson #10
69. LIFE! IS! A JOURNEY.! ! WHY FEAR IT?
70. REPEATING! MISTAKES
 IS NOT! PROFESSIONAL
71. EXPERIENCE! IS! PRICELESS.! ! EVEN IF A BAD ONE.
72. STOP! DIGGING! YOURSELF! A HOLE! AND! LEARN! TO! COMMUNICATE
73. The Clean Coder: A Code of Conduct for Professional Programmers @unclebobmartin
74. Thanks! Questions? @gmile