The art and science of getting stuff done.

It feels good to be back.  I left my old firm and joined a new organization.  I took the week off to adapt to my new surroundings and sleep schedule.  I also had a holiday week, so I used the opportunity to catch up with family and friends.  Now that I am getting comfortable with my new role, I wanted to talk about the biggest challenge we face in agile and scrum.

The creation of software is one of the few modern products we produce that are nearly impossible to automate.  We have figured out how to automate many software development-related things.  Testing can be automated.  DevOps demands that the software building process be automated.  Anything repetitive and tedious can be automated.  Writing software requires plenty of skill and practice to do it well.  Someone needs to take the vague ideas of the business and turn them into something concrete so that the software developers can create something valuable.

It means authoring software is a human process.  Human beings are notoriously messy and prone to error.  Accepting the reality of human messiness makes it easy to understand why projects fail and work does not get done.  A colleague of mine put it best when he said, “It all comes down to people; you can have the best process, but if the people can’t or won’t do it, you are lost.”

Specialized professionals have come into being to help ensure that organizations keep going and processes work. These people have plenty of different titles and roles. They are scrum masters, project managers, and bosses of every conceivable size and strip. What united them all was that they needed to be good with people and have strong leadership skills.

The good news is plenty of good programs teach leadership skills.  Combined with practice and desire, anyone can become a competent leader.  Thanks to the Agile and Scrum Alliance, we can train skilled people to become Product Owners and Scrum Masters.  These courses and training programs represent the science of project management.  The art combines the technical aspects of scrum mastery and putting it together with the messy nature of human beings to create something new.  It is not easy, and it is emotionally draining.  If done right, it can generate millions of dollars in value.  If done poorly, it resembles a tragically executed piece of performance art.

So, leading projects is both an art and a science.  Science understands things like testing paradigms, and art enters the picture when someone with gout is working late hours and not getting the work done.  It is not easy to be; nothing worthwhile is easy.  So remember the art and science related to your role.  You are going to need both.

Until next time.