RE: Summing up and moving on (I hope)

>> This is where I am different, and in a way that is consistent 
>> with the XP philosophy. When I'm stuck, I ask for help, 
>> rather than wait until I've tried everything I could possibly 
>> try first. I ask for help, I hang around to help solve the 
>> problem, I learn, then I become the expert next time. Am I 
>> wrong to conclude that this trait is rare among C-level and 
>> B-level folks?
>
>For some people there is personal pride in finding a solution.  

Those people are welcome to personal pride, except as it wastes time for which I pay them to generate solutions. If the fastest and most effective way to generate solutions is to collaborate, rather than work individually, then either collaborate or get out of here. Simple.

>I agree
>that
>for some people this pride plays a too important role but we should not
>deny
>that this pride exists and that is also creates a sense of achievement.
>Thinking takes time, sometimes it seems like I'm stuck but giving it some
>time to digest, I often get through with an acceptable solution.  When my
>maturity increases it will get easier to judge whether I'm really stuck or
>just spending time thinking.  As my maturity grows, there will be more
>things I can try.

>Now, apart from the trivial problems, how do you know that you get the help
>you need when you ask for it? 

It's impossible to know that ahead of time. One can only have access to as many resources as possible. Fostering an environment in which collaboration is the normal way to work maximizes the opportunity to get help when needed.

>Who do you rely on and why?

I rely on the people who have been effective in helping me in the past. I rely on the people who have demonstrated a willingness to help. I rely on the people who have demonstrated availability to help. I rely on the people within shouting distance.

>Asking for help can also be seen as a risk mitigation strategy because you
>don't have to take ownership of the solution (unless it works ;-) ).

The team owns all solutions; otherwise it is not a team, almost by definition.

>There isn't a black and white answer to your question I'm afraid.

Sure there is: the trait is either rare or not rare. It's a binary question. How much more black-and-white could it be?

<snip />
>What I see as a problem with XP
>is that it is advocated as an all or nothing approach.  It should be
>scalable, it should be adaptable, and it should be about contininuous
>improvement.

This is changing: the XP community recognizes that in many cases, XP cannot be adopted entirely and on day 1. There are dozens of papers on the subject of implementing XP incrementally. What we all recognize is that XP is *best* done all at once, because it relies on emergent behavior, which depends on doing all of the practices for a long period of time.

>If XP is about embracing change, how much has XP changed in the years that
>it has been around?

Considerably, I think.

J. B. Rainsberger,
President, Diaspar Software Services
Let's write software that people understand.
http://www.diasparsoftware.com/
telephone: +1 416 791-8603
All correspondence (c) 2002 Diaspar Software Services.
If you want to use it, just ask; don't steal.




------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Get 128 Bit SSL Encryption!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/CBxunD/vN2EAA/xGHJAA/NhFolB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
extremecustomering-unsubscribe-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw@public.gmane.org

 

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/