There’s a famous Mike Tyson quote:
Everyone has a Plan
until they get Punched in the Mouth
It reminds me of the ultimate futility of estimating and planning. Or investing too much in both of those endeavors. Particularly in the area of software product development.
Another related quote is from Eisenhower. It surrounds the value of plans (artifact) vs. planning (activity):
I have always found that in preparing for battle that
Plans are Useless,
but Planning is Invaluable
That is:
- The activity of exploring requirements via user stories and acceptance criteria;
- The activity of minimizing (MVP) the results so as to learn;
- The activity of making estimates as a vehicle to explore size, scope, risk, and design approaches;
- The activity of discussing construction and deployment strategy;
- The activity of delivering work to stakeholders and gaining their feedback.
Are all more valuable than fixed or static plans, which are intolerant of the punches that are inherent in software development - learning and discovery.
Wrapping Up
The next time you find yourself getting “stuck in” your plans or thinking that planning is more important than doing and adjusting, then please remember these two quotes. Also remembering, that Tyson and Eisenhower weren’t practicing agile software development. But they were indeed…agile.
Stay agile my friends,
Bob.