Construction site metaphor - exercises week 2:
Imagine yourself at a construction site:
- feel the busy atmosphere
- see the different parts and trades
- notice how everything is in process
- recognise the schedule and budget pressure
Relate this to collaborative work on a software development project.
Some collaborative situations are described in the following, using
the metaphor. For each of these, translate to your situation in a software
project:
- What does this correspond to ?
- What actions do you perform currently ?
- What are the risks and opportunities ?
- What will you do on this project ?
1. The carpenter wants to mount the windows, but must wait for the mason
to complete the surrounding wall:
- What type of collaboration is in action here?
- What rules of good conduct should be used?
2. A cupboard cannot be opened after the oven has been installed.
Somebody forgot to allow for the handle on the oven door. We solve the
problem by having the cabinet-maker switch the mounting on the cupboard
door:
- What might have been the original cause?
- What must be done as a consequence of our solution to the problem?
- What rules of good conduct should be used?
3. The basement is flooded. The main faucet was opened according to plan.
However, no-one noticed that a stub was missing. The plumber didn't have
one with him yesterday when he was finishing up:
- What errors might lie behind this?
- How could the problem have been prevented?
- What rules of good conduct should be used?
Analyse for each activity in the model:
- how do you perform this currently?
- does this give you any problems?
- how can you improve it?
Which variants of collaboration do you foresee on a typical software project?
- what value does it provide the individual person?
- what does it bring to the project?
What rules of good conduct do you need?
- integration and verification
- quality of work and communication
- priorities
How will you manage collaboration?
- merging of parts
- co-ordination
- control changes
How do you maintain overview?
- of the parts and the system
- mechanisms, tools, check lists
How do you ensure that the system:
- consists of the right parts
- parts are available when needed
- is consistent, doesn't break, is stable ...
Updated November 3, 2003 |
