no best practices?
TRANSCRIPT
What’s the deal withBest Practices?
Øredev 2007
Dan North - ThoughtWorks
Øredev 2007 © 2007 Dan North
I am…
Øredev 2007 © 2007 Dan North
Motivations
Ensure consistency
Support learning
Limit (potential) damage
Commoditise resources – mobility, flexibility
Enforce control
Manage risk
Øredev 2007 © 2007 Dan North
With apologies to George Lucas
Fear leads to Risk
Risk leads to Process
Process leads to Hate
…and suffering and meetings
Øredev 2007 © 2007 Dan North
What causes fear?
Rational fear comes from knowledge
Irrational fear comes from ignorance
Most fear is irrational…
…so we can learn our way out of it
Øredev 2007 © 2007 Dan North
The Dreyfus model
Novice
Advanced beginner
Competent
Proficient
Expert
Øredev 2007 © 2007 Dan North
“Practices”
Things we do
Behaviours
Prescriptive
Øredev 2007 © 2007 Dan North
The Dreyfus model… and practices
Novice… needs practices!
Advanced beginner… uses practices
Competent… defines practices – uh oh
Proficient… falls back on practices
Expert… subverts practices
Øredev 2007 © 2007 Dan North
“Best”
Absolute qualifier
Context-independent
Unambiguous
Øredev 2007 © 2007 Dan North
Lean… a software best practice?
Lean supplyminimise inventory
Lean manufacturingminimise variance
Lean product designmaximise discovery!
Øredev 2007 © 2007 Dan North
Recap - what are “best practices”?
Absolute prescriptions of behaviour
…to stifle the creative environment
…to frustrate your best people
That has to suck
Øredev 2007 © 2007 Dan North
So we’re done, right?
Not quite…
Øredev 2007 © 2007 Dan North
Where are best practices useful?
Protecting people from themselves
Getting people through the advanced beginner stage
And that’s all - unless…
Øredev 2007 © 2007 Dan North
Better “Best Practices”
Context
Descriptive rather than prescriptive
Pros and Cons
That sounds like a pattern
Øredev 2007 © 2007 Dan North
Summary
“Risk averse” == scared, and that’s ok
Software is a creative activity performed by skilled people
So the best Best Practices are neither “best” nor “practices”
