[teampractices] [Discussion] Term for always prepping for the next thing

[Max Binder]

I think it is good to frame time as a budget, because it is a finite
resource. Then the mantra becomes "I need to spend less" rather than "I
need more resources."

Hofstadter's Law (a favorite) relates better to our previous point on
measuring capacity. Estimating task size and complexity is a key part of
measuring capacity. Our bullet points earlier in the thread talk about
gaining forecasting accuracy over time, and subsequently adjusting batch
size with each iteration, to get a better understanding of how long it
takes to do something in one loop. Then re-prioritize accordingly, with the
umbrella understanding that finishing (or totally abandoning) work is
usually a higher priority than starting and stopping.

Jim Benson wrote an excellent book [1] on biases that talks about
differentiating "prediction" from "estimation." Prediction is the act of
aiming with the hope you are right, where estimation is is the act of
aiming with the understanding that you are wrong. The former points you
towards a status quo and disappointment when it is not met, where the
latter prepares you for inevitable change. It's a subtle difference that
can really help to focus on when trying to inspect and adapt properly.

[1]
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Team_Practices_Group/Recommended_Reading#Agile_.28general.29

On Wed, Sep 30, 2015 at 12:14 PM, S Page <spage at wikimedia.org> wrote:

> On Wed, Sep 9, 2015 at 10:32 AM, Kevin Smith <ksmith at wikimedia.org> wrote:
>
>>  I'm imagining someone whose "todo" queue is growing linearly while their
>> "done" pile eternally remains empty. It seems odd that new higher-priority
>> work would be coming in so fast that not only can the old work not get done
>> first, but the new work can't either.
>>
>
> The problem for me comes from ruthless prioritization vs. dealing with new
> small inbox issues in the moment. I'm sure I read some advice to do the
> latter instead of the overhead of managing an enormous growing pile of
> postponed work. Especially with documentation, tagging yet another mail
> thread "ought to document this nugget some day" vs. spending
> just-a-little-bit more time getting it done here and now. The problems are
> a) If there are too many small things you can get done in the moment, then
> those moments take over your day.
> b) Hoftstadter's Law [1].
>
> I guess the answer is to budget your time better. Thanks for any advice,
> though I don't expect any because answering this is not in your quarterly
> goals or current sprint :-).
>
> [1] "It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into
> account Hofstadter's Law." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hofstadter's_law
>
> --
> =S Page  WMF Tech writer
>
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