💀 The Dev Process Headache: Less Fun, More Focus
We're constantly trying to nail down how we build software, and that means diving into process. We're talking frameworks, tools, and all the rituals designed to make sure multiple people can collaborate efficiently. But let’s be honest: are we achieving true efficiency, or just busywork?
Currently, the Agile family (Scrum, Kanban, etc.) rules. While these paradigms bring structure, I've seen that strict adherence can often become a constraint. Following guidelines religiously can prevent genuine innovation, setting limits that the process itself defines. And let's not forget: when the process dictates everything, your personal experience and creative enjoyment suffer. Less fun, less flow.
😡 The Real Sin: Wasting Time and Mental Load 🧠
The biggest operational failure isn't a complex bug; it's the process that actively uses up people's time and mental capacity.
Engineers are problem-solvers. Our instinct is to find the best, fastest solution, not to shuffle bureaucratic cards. The moment a process becomes a burden—like a redundant status meeting or documentation only written for the sake of checking a box—it is actively stealing brainpower and hindering progress.
The Cost of Context Switching
The absolute worst offender is unnecessary context switching.
Say I'm deep in the flow state, solving a complex issue. Getting pulled into a mandatory, but non-critical, meeting isn't just a 15-minute time sink. It triggers a massive mental load that is required to drop the current problem, attend the meeting, and then—the hard part—get back into that complex task.
This cycle is a direct drain on productivity. It shows an environment that prioritizes following the rules over respecting the people's focus.
The efficiency of a team is inversely proportional to the cost of its context switches.
🧭 Environment Dictates Flow
The approach to process is heavily dictated by the environment and organization size:
- Startups/Small Teams: They're often nimble, leveraging technology and a flat hierarchy to adopt methods that genuinely work, rather than ones dictated by convention.
- Large Organizations: Once you hit a certain scale, coordination is mandatory. The challenge here is when the organizational structure itself forces clunky, ineffective processes, leading teams to create their own confusing workarounds just to survive.
My core belief stands: We must always be using the right tool for the job.
Sometimes, industry standards (or client mandates) dictate the frameworks we use. That's fine. But our higher mission is to deliver value—to achieve the business goal without generating more "work about work" that exhausts the team.
🤝 The Human Protocol: Be Kind, Be Present
Frameworks and tools are important, but they will fail if the human element is missing. The best team culture is built on a constant act of balance:
- Kindness and Empathy: Be thoughtful toward your colleagues. Design processes that make their lives easier, not harder.
- Collaboration: Prioritize open, easy communication over siloed documentation.
Personally, the best defense against the context-switching monster and staying aligned is simple: presence and direct communication. Actively engaging—whether in person or virtually—remains the most effective way for me to stay locked into projects and connected to people without suffering from meeting fatigue.