Something I’ve been observing lately is the acceptance of complacency. Its disturbing. I don’t know how else to describe it. I’ve been sitting in wordpress for the past twenty minutes trying to start this entry, and thats the best way I can describe it, disturbing. As of late, I have been working on a few projects as a contractor where I have sat right in the middle of some of the most mind numbingly bureaucratic-esque situations I think I have ever been placed in. But at the end of the day, everyone around me can verify that this is “what enterprise is like”. So, in the spirit of being “enterprise” I am required to setup more than 5 meetings about the same exact topic…5 days in advance? I have to have meetings about meetings? I have to write 107 page documents about documents that are going to be written? I have to go over every nuance of a topic before we can even touch code?

This is what enterprise is like? Thanks, but no thanks. Really, I feel like my problem is more with the specific development methodologies that lots of enterprises tend to lean towards, but whats more interesting to me is a two fold observation:

1. Enterprises often times aren’t familiar with the exact terminologies or rules about a specific development methodology that they are employing. Often times, I run into the waterfall methodology, and yet, even more often times, these companies don’t realize they are implementing this design methodology. More on this later.

2. Its interesting how the people around these “500 lbs. gorillas” don’t seem to question the methodologies and begin to get the impression that if they aren’t employing the same techniques, they aren’t “enterprise savvy”. This is stupid and easily classified as “group-think” mentality which is a dangerous road to go down. More on this later.

So lets address the waterfalls. Its an interesting phenomena, perhaps its a human instinct to understand *absolutely everything* around them before embarking on producing something. I suppose thats a decent point to make, its very uncommon for Hollywood to begin production of a movie with only a third of the script or storyboard drawn out, yes? Architects don’t architect buildings without understanding every floor to a T, yes? People done bake a cake without making sure they’ve got all the recipes on hand, yes? I feel that iterative, continuous development is a luxury that software developers are given; It comes with the territory, I have a backspace and dry erase markers for a reason. Nothing has to *ever* be set in stone. But once my cake is baked, I have to eat it.

Although, upon further consideration, its never bad to take a 10,000 ft. view of your project, I think the dangers arise when people stay in the clouds for too long; lack of oxygen?

But what about the “group-think” syndrome? I think this is by far the most caustic issue facing small code shops. “We need gantt charts of everything we are doing!! Okay, lets use Microsoft Project! so that they will think we are hella professional.” Whats wrong with excel? Does excel make you less “hella professional?” I think the acceptance of the bureaucracy in small, agile-capable companies is what makes them fail; but the initial theory most likely computes to make sense, “well, they do this, and they are big, so we should too!” I’m not going to bring anything up about any sort of bridge jumping because your friend did, but you get what I’m saying.

So, with all that said, here’s to being a bit more agile in my everyday life :)