The generation before me still believed that children should be "seen and not heard." I was heard from plenty.
Today children are told, "You can do anything, be anything you want." I was in my twenties for most of the '80s, and I saw this change happen. Before the '80s generation kids were told, "get a job" and the ones that didn't were told, "you can't live here anymore ya hippie." I don't ever remember someone saying, "you can do anything you want" when I was a kid. Now I over hear kids being told that all the time.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Sunday, August 4, 2013
We do plans and estimates so we can tell the story
Why do the people that work on a software project create project plans and estimates?
We create plans and estimates so that we can tell the story of the solution and, through the telling of the story, we can practice our craft. When we do it as an ensemble or team, we do it so we can work and practice our craft together, bringing all our individual skills into one cast of characters and producers. We do it to bring joy and amazement to our audience and we use our stories to help solve their problems.
Business needs plans and the tools of plans, such as estimates and budgets. As software story tellers we often sell our skills to make our living and those that manage the money - whether it's clients or employers - need to use it wisely and responsibly. They want a plan to show that they are not wasting the money and are able to account for it responsibly.
Not all software is created for money. Many open source efforts exist simply because of a desire to tell that software's story. Those projects usually have far less elaborate plans. Ironically, they are also some of the most successful stories ever told.
The need to plan, to organize budgets, time and resources is not to be dismissed. Some methods of funding a project cannot happen without an estimate or plan. This is the professional part of being a modern day story teller. The bulk of this message deals with the craft and the means by which the craft accommodates the need for estimates and plans.
To be professional, we need to do our best to help the business with it's plans, estimates, forecasts and resourcing, but it's not what drives us. It's not what fuels our creative juices or helps us hone our craft. For that we leave the profession behind and turn to the work of the craftsmen.
We create plans and estimates so that we can tell the story of the solution and, through the telling of the story, we can practice our craft. When we do it as an ensemble or team, we do it so we can work and practice our craft together, bringing all our individual skills into one cast of characters and producers. We do it to bring joy and amazement to our audience and we use our stories to help solve their problems.
Business needs plans and the tools of plans, such as estimates and budgets. As software story tellers we often sell our skills to make our living and those that manage the money - whether it's clients or employers - need to use it wisely and responsibly. They want a plan to show that they are not wasting the money and are able to account for it responsibly.
Not all software is created for money. Many open source efforts exist simply because of a desire to tell that software's story. Those projects usually have far less elaborate plans. Ironically, they are also some of the most successful stories ever told.
The need to plan, to organize budgets, time and resources is not to be dismissed. Some methods of funding a project cannot happen without an estimate or plan. This is the professional part of being a modern day story teller. The bulk of this message deals with the craft and the means by which the craft accommodates the need for estimates and plans.
To be professional, we need to do our best to help the business with it's plans, estimates, forecasts and resourcing, but it's not what drives us. It's not what fuels our creative juices or helps us hone our craft. For that we leave the profession behind and turn to the work of the craftsmen.
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