It was an evolutionary process. When you work running on the technology treadmill for so long, you learn to prioritize to survive.

You know the feeling. You are cooking along on a project. Meanwhile versions are changing, build products are changing, along with corporate requirements, release processes, Bills of Material, etc. etc.

If you are integrating subsystems from other teams or other companies, then you not only have to manage your own workflow, but also track what the other party is doing. This can produce hiccups in your own work - so you learn to anticipate what might happen.

Assumptions undermine your processes. They masquerade as ‘Magic’ and ‘Mind Reading’ until they inevitably turn into the one thing a boss hates: a surprise. The ‘No Mind Reading’ rule is the hardest to master because assumptions act like landmines on the technology treadmill. You will stumble, and you will get thrown off. But if you banish the ‘Magic’ and ‘Mind Reading’ and stick to the logic of Must Work and Must Ship, you’ll ship it and keep running.

Must Work Must Ship Images generated by Google Gemini