Agile-ish, Three Is a Lot of Kids, and a Quick Book Rec

Tools, tiny philosophers, and sending your devs into the wild

Post #13 (super spooky). It's been a wild week (is that every week?) but I got some driving time which meant I got some time for abstract thought. This week, we're touching on: half-baked agile, the dangers of overbuilding from the outset, why you should absolutely send your dev team to your clients, and the harsh realities of having three kids. Get in loser; we're going shopping.

Start with the Basics. Please.

I’ve seen so many teams kill their own momentum by building everything before they’ve even built anything. Start simple. Get your core functionality working; focusing on a full vertical slice of the software and not layer-by-layer. Then test, learn, and improve. The more you tack on before shipping, the less likely you are to ever cross the finish line. This doesn't even have to be for an MVP-type environment. You should still deliver a basic set of features before setting out to deliver all features before you have even built the basics.

Agile Isn’t a Religion; It’s a Toolbox

I’ve seen people thump the Agile book like it’s gospel, insisting every standup and sprint must follow the sacred rituals. I’ve also seen people toss the whole thing out the window in frustration. Neither extreme works.

I was talking with an old friend recently and he described how his team loosely uses agile principles - not because it’s trendy, but because that’s what actually works for them. Agile should be like a bag of tools: Use what fits, ignore what doesn’t, and learn to use the tools correctly.

Send Your Devs to the Clients

Want to supercharge your product team (not just the product owners, but the devs and QA too)? Get them on-site with your customers. Let them see the frustrations. Hear the sighs. Watch how people actually use the thing.

It’s surprising how hard it is to actually understand the product and how easy it is to lose sight of the real-world impact when you’re buried in code. Let them feel what it’s like to make someone’s life easier. Also, get them to see the user struggle.

Why Outsourcing Isn’t Innovation

I’m not anti-outsourcing, but you can’t expect an offshore team to innovate if you’re treating them like a ticket machine. They’re incentivized to deliver what’s in scope; not what’s best.

They don’t see your clients, they’re not sitting in your meetings, and they likely aren't part of your regular conversations. You want creativity and ownership? You need people who are close to the problem, and close to the people experiencing it.

Science, Religion, and Our Need to Understand

Recently my wife (yes I'm stealing another topic from our chats) brought up how old religions were the science of the day - you know, typical sexy pillow talk. Is today's science just the modern version of old religions?

Three Is a Lot of Kids

Years ago, one of my employees came into work looking like a zombie; he had just had his third kid. In a 1:1 he told me, “Trevor. Don’t have three kids. Three is a lot of kids.”

What he didn’t know was that my wife and I had just found out we were expecting our third, so he probably felt a bit awkward when that news came out. Either way, he wasn’t wrong - three is a lot of kids.

Words of Wisdom From One of Those Three Kids

“The meaning of life is lying sometimes, and brushing your teeth, and taking care of the Earth.”

I don’t even know what to say to that. I'm oddly warmed by his wisdom, but also got some WTF vibes. It's fun to see those little insights come out of these guys (even if they are weird AF).

Book Rec: Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull

Ok, it's been a bit, let's end this one on a book recommendation: Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull. It’s about building Pixar, but the insights apply to any creative or product-driven team. If you care about building a healthy, collaborative, feedback-rich environment, this one’s worth your time. It's also not a super dry "how to run your team" style book.

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That’s the bit buffet for this week. We got your noodles, salad, kids, work, desserts. What else could you want? Favorite kid quote? Hit reply and let me know, or just go off on some long-winded rant to me; that'd be fun too.

Later loser,

//Trevor

P.S.: Curious about my consulting work? I help build people-first workplaces that actually function. More here: //TREVORFRY.TECH