In the midst of some process changes that our team is working on, we’re finding a lot of friction in some of those process changes and that’s got me thinking a bit… why are we forcing it? Here’s just a quick drop of my thoughts on adding new processes to a team’s workflow.

Ugh… more process

Before seeking to propose a new process, you need a problem statement. Why do we even need this thing? Who cares about it? How will it help us solve that problem? If you just come out swinging with a new process, your team is gonna likely just roll their eyes and groan. However, if you instead tell them why this is going to be helpful and it’s not going to impact their day-to-day much, then you might start to get folks on board.

The point of a process is to empower the team. If the process immediately starts to impede the team, then we need to be ready and willing to pivot on the process to close those gaps. Doubling down on the impedance is only going to harm the team and will ultimately be met with friction. Which leads to my next and final point…

Be willing to pull the plug

If we propose a new process, we need to be close enough to it to care to continue to push it. We also need to be separated enough from it to be willing to shut it down swiftly if necessary. Maybe it’s impeding the team more than it’s empowering them. Maybe the friction is just too great. Maybe it needs to be backed off and rethought. Just like other programming practices, iteration is the name of the game. Be willing to iterate, because…

A good process is something the majority of the team embraces.

/endrant