Rhythm
It started so subtly, I almost didn’t even notice. The other night, my wife and I were watching A Knight’s Tale, the Heath Ledger tour de force. While this movie didn’t sweep the Oscars, it is still entertaining and features a pretty darn good soundtrack - I mean, how can you not like Queen’s We Will Rock You? So we’re watching one of the scenes with a heavy Queen backdrop and next thing I know, my foot is a tappin.
My subconscious is a much better dancer than I (one shudders to think what our first dance would have been like but for my wife’s uncanny ability to keep time) but the involuntary flailing of my clodhopper got me thinking about rhythm. My own ineptitude combined with watching Ernie Els for five minutes proves how key rhythm is to golf…but its everywhere if you just look. The seasons have their own beat - days get longer and shorter, nights get cooler, mornings warmer. Think back to school, a new semester, a break, a new semester, a longer break!
What really interests me though, is how the idea of rhythm applies to developing software. Projects have a natural rhythm and when you get it right, it really is something. I remember back when - our project had achieved velocity and we fell into our rhythm. We were delivering code every two to three weeks and we where having a blast. Without a doubt, it was the most fun I’ve ever had developing software.
Compare that to the proverbial death march. Try dancing to that beat. Does it work? Did you enjoy it? On your next project, think about rhythm and think about what it feels like when everyone is keeping the same time. Its effortless. It flows. its fun.
February 8th, 2006 at 8:28 pm
[…] I’ve spoken about rhythm before and I can’t stress its importance to the sanity of a software team. If you’ve been on a death march before…you know how evil they really are. Let’s show off my range - how about a non-software example? It’s only February and I’m sure more than a few people are clinging diligently to that resolution about dropping some weight. Let’s say you want to lose 25 pounds - if you focus on the 25 what happens after you’ve lost 5? Are you motivated to keep going or are you downtrodden that you still have 20 more to go? To be successful, you’ve got to chunk the goal up and celebrate the baby steps! Software isn’t any different. Finish that cool new Ajax widget? Great, bring in some pie! Finally approved that functional spec? Heck, the boss should spring for pizza! […]