The power of common sense
During my years in the world of software project management, I've been thinking a lot about how come that we so often believe that different methodologies and processes will save us and provide us with a path to eternal happiness and success. History is repeating itself, again and again. You probably remember all these (expensive) RUP, PRINCE2, PROPS, Agile, SAFE evangelists from the numerous (expensive) training sessions telling you just that.
The answer is probably that we are humans, and we like simple solutions. A methodology, described in books and diagrams might look complex, but compared to life, it is simple. It is humans who do software development; it is supposed to model life, which makes it far more complex. When I present a project plan, the only prediction that I would dare to put my life on is that things will not be like I've just explained. My audience usually laughs when I say that, but I'm deadly serious.
You will always meet surprises and challenges, and you need to deal with those. How? I propose "common sense" project management.
The term "common sense" was first defined by Aristotle. He said that humans were the only animals on the planet equipped with a sense of logic and that everyone is born with the potential to think logically, ie, the logical sense is common sense.
When I think about common sense, I think of three things:
Facts first
A refusal of a single and only truth
Always practical and workable
Get the facts. Respect the complexity
Common sense is about dealing with the world as it really is, not how you feel it should be. Don't try to squeeze the reality into the methodology diagrams; try to adjust the diagrams to fit your world.
Get facts, check your sources, and think with your own head. The point is to solve the problem, not to become a methodology slave.
Refuse a single and only truth
I can't stop thinking that the creators of many software development methodologies are often called evangelists. I guess that is because they often want us to believe in their truth, the one and only.
I remember the SCRUM training that I attended many years ago. The teacher, one of the founders of SCRUM, spent quite a lot of time during the course to neglect and make fun of RUP and waterfall project methods that were popular some time ago. The thing was that one of the participants on the course was the son of one of the RUP founders. The poor guy didn't dare to say his name loudly; he just whispered it when he was asked to present himself, hoping that nobody will hear it properly. He was ashamed because of his father's heritage and work.
I don't want to go there. We need to show respect for our predecessors. Of course, they did many things right. There is no only one truth. Actually, having only one truth is a dangerous thing. The secret is in cherrypicking the best parts, based on facts, logic, and experience, do it the scientific way.
Make it practical and workable
Common sense is factual and practical. It is scientific and pragmatic. Project management, based on common sense, is about creating and using practical and workable ways of work. Don't overdo it just because the method is telling you to do so.
It doesn't seem so hard, does it? But sometimes, the simplest things are the hardest. Let me try to explain my "common sense" way in some future posts.
