Cut the Fat
A while back, I wrote about two of the most dangerous words in the programing world – what if. Like many before me, I’ve been on teams that were stuck in analysis paralysis before and I can’t tell you how many meetings I’ve attended that quickly devolved when people started tossing out loaded phrases like “well, I could see a customer doing…” or “you know, I think it’d be nice if…” Hey, I’ve been guilty of gold plating from time to time, but I’ve grown – I fully accept YAGNI in my life. Now, along with a blood sacrifice, I demand living breathing proof that we need to implement a feature…who am I kidding, I don’t have that kind of clout.
The next time you’re sitting around trying to figure out what you feature you *must* have in your next release, just ask: is it essential or not? Of course that doesn’t mean you should ship utter garbage either…and don’t get me started on all the beta-ware out there!
