The Code Whisperer

I’ve just got back from a skiing holiday in Les Houches, near Chamonix in France. We were there last year too and it’s a great, quiet resort for families. If you ever go there check out Le Creposaure opposite the Bellevue lift - very friendly, excellent food and good value for money.

Les Houches, France. Peaceful, beautiful skiing

The weather was generally good, but we had one afternoon where the cloud came down and left us with a visibility of 15 metres or so. We were quite close to the cable car so took the opportunity for the children to experience skiing in these conditions and also teach them about what to do, i.e. keep sight of the person in front, shout if you lose sight of them or fall. I’ve done a bit of mountain walking so know the basics on keeping safe and share the despair of the mountain rescue teams when they have to risk their own necks to find ill-prepared groups of people who think they are on a Sunday afternoon stroll only to find the weather changes and they need a map to find their car. As nice as the picture is, skiing takes place on a mountain and the same rules apply - weather can and does change very quickly.

Just as we were about to go we discovered a very distraught lady who had become separated from her husband and friend. She had fallen and then couldn’t locate the other two, didn’t know quite where she was or where to get back down. They had one phone and one piste map between then, neither of which was in her possession, although the phone wouldn’t be much use in this situation. I can only imagine the panic her husband was feeling.

So what has this to do with software development? Things go wrong on a mountain as well as in software development. With most outdoor activities there is planning for things going wrong - a life jacket on a dinghy, first aid kit in a walkers rucksack. Participants in these activities often spend a fair bit of time and money organising for unexpected events or mistakes. But we don’t always do this with software development. So today’s blog entry is to plan for things going wrong. Put processes in place that the whole team are aware of to allow quick recovery from the problem, even if it’s “if this happens contact this person on this number”. As you come up against new problems use the Five Whys to get to the root of the problem and address that. And if you go skiing in a group make sure everyone has a mobile phone on them, charged up and turned on. All you need is an old phone with a pay as you go SIM card in it, but double check that it will work abroad.

The bad weather gave me time to watch some old films I haven’t seen in a while, one of which was Office Space. There is an IT connection and for anyone who has worked in a cubicle it rings very true. It also serves as an example on how not to manage, and certainly how not to lead. I cringe every time the cup carrying boss appears at a cubicle and asks “What’s happening?” and, without pause, delivers some form of instruction or comment. Pure horror!