Agile Otter Blog

Recommended bash scripts for every project clean_start  ensures you are ready to start new work. It does: 'pull -r' (which fails if you have uncommitted work) a refresh of the local environment  'git clean -i' in case you have untracked files you've forgotten about a full test run. onboard is the script to run if you are a brand-new developer and you need to set up your development environment. It will deal with setting up the environment (installing dependencies and any virtual environment) and runs the tests. run runs the application itself. I started adding run scripts when I started changing between ruby, python, java and other projects and got tired of having to remember which incantation started the servers.  This is a shortcut. run_tests will run all of the tests -- every kind. run_integration_tests will run only the integration tests (I don't always separate these). I don't use a script to run only the unit tests, because I have IDE configured to...

Working faster isn't working?  Do you want to understand why that is? Warning If you are working with development teams (and aren't a developer or ex-developer) then this might be jarring , but it's intended for good and not for offense. The reason it takes so long for work to be done? I know from a distance it seems like it's "they're not working hard enough," but it's very possible (better than 50/50) that they're working too much. The queues Wherever there is a handoff, there is a queue. If the person receiving the work is busy, the queue becomes a wait. How long work waits is largely a matter of: How many things are in the queue? How often can someone pull the work from the queue? How long does it take to complete the job once started? How long does it take one task to clear all of the other queues and reach production? We tend to think of our workflow like this: [Step 1] ---- [Step 2] --- [Step 3] -- [Release]      In reality, it looks more li...

  This is probably too snarky, but bear with me: If I fill my fuel tank with non-fuel or the wrong fuel, it will damage my car and fail to perform. Is that because fueling the car is a bad idea? If fueling a car is a good idea, shouldn't there be a million ways to do it so that it's easy for people? This "petrol only" rule = is too restrictive to be useful in the real world. Every time I put diesel in my petrol vehicle, the mechanic pulling my gas tank and cleaning the fuel lines tells me I'm doing it wrong. Don't they realize there's more than one way? Just because my way consistently fails doesn't make me wrong! Why should all of those elite gate-keepers put down people who choose their own fuels? Why are they so petty and close-minded? Don't you think that people should get to choose to put whatever they like in the gas tank? This top-down mandate by car makers is undemocratic! It's authoritarian! Where is the psychological safety? Who ...