Promoting change...

I have heard a couple of friends, developers and  IT mostly, complaining about the situation they are in at their workplaces. Some say they have a boring job, others say they don't get paid enough, others are simply not motivated. My question to most of them is mostly the same: are you doing something about it?

Let's face it. We spend a lot of time sitting in front of a computer. In uncountable cases, that time is more than 40 hours a week. If you are going to spend that much time doing something your entire life, you better make sure you like doing it. If you don't, maybe what you are doing is not your thing. Maybe there is something else that would make you happier and that would be more gratifying to you. Something you can also get paid for... *insert joke about prostitution here*

But what if you do like what you are doing? What if your are good at what you are doing but, somehow, because of external factors you are still not enjoying it the way you think you should. Maybe you are even, starting to hate it... Well... that's why I am writing this post.

The truth of the matter is, most of the people I ask this, haven't even tried to solve the problem. They haven't even recognized their problem! They are just complaining, and they are not even complaining about it to the right person!

Whether you are the owner of a small software consulting firm, a project manager, or just another developer, you can always do something about it. There is no such thing as no options when it comes to promoting change in your work environment or organization.

This post is based on personal philosophies, experiences that I have had and some that I haven't, but I have received first hand. It is not intended to be a guide but more of an example on how it is possible to use what you have to improve your current situation and somewhat, a call to action. If you are willing to take the step, you will be surprised of how simple it is sometimes.

The post was written after the fact, so a lot of the things I am talking about here may sound very planned, when they weren't and happened organically. 

Also, it is focused on how we dealt with and approached introducing agile software development to the company I am working for. Some of the challenges, the solutions we found (and are still finding). I imagine the concepts are the same for any kind of change. So if you think: - "Ok it's just for agile" - I urge you to reconsider and take the time to see what you can get out of it that is not Agile Practices or Software Development related. 

Finally, it's an open invitation to anyone in the same situation to share their experiences in the subject. I would love to hear about them.

A little background

Some time ago others and I in the team were really burnt out about how bad our code base was. It was impossible to work with ! Fixing bugs became this (to misquote Dr. Sheldon Cooper) un-unravelable web  of changes all over the place, and as if that were not enough, there was no other way of testing any of the changes worked but to deploy the application and manually test it. We work with Eclipse and a really old version of JBoss, etc.


You see what I'm getting at... Let's just say I was really unhappy about how things were going on that front. Being the new guy on the block there, it was expected that I would find some resistance to making changes from some of the guys in the team, as in fact I did.

However, taking a chance, I started using TDD on my new projects. This saved a couple of hours on testing and bugs fixing. Then with those and the help of another team member, we set up a continuous integration server, a Maven repository, and some other tools for metrics and knowledge sharing. Afterwards, every project he and I started working on, diminished the amount of friction required for set up, working on them, deploying and testing.

Soon, others started asking how they could get to use it on their own projects. It became "mainstream" and eventually the rogue continuous integration server passed from being hosted on the slowest computer ever (the only one we could use...) to become a virtual machine on the company's servers.

The moral of the story being: if you want change, you have to start yourself. How are you going to ask others to change if you are not willing to do what it takes? Sometimes a spark is all you need to set a whole forest on fire. Check out this Derek Sivers TED video. 

Let's talk about change

Change is a strange animal. Almost like a cat. We pat it and care for it. From time to time, it comes over and wants to play with you. However, like a cat, it barely listens when you are calling him. So how come it is so hard to "change" things when you want to, instead of it just happening to you.  

What I have come to realize is that affecting the organization is a matter of knowing how to approach change. Whether it is getting the team to consider a new technology, tool or methodology, it boils down to dealing with change. Why? Because change creates fear. Change creates discomfort. Finally, most changes involve transforming ourselves and the way we see things, and that is just plain scary.

I would say there are mostly four main things you have to consider when you are trying to change something. I am not saying they are the only things you have to consider, but for what I have seen they are the ones that I personally value the most. I will explain them in detail later, but for now, those four things are:

First, the desire to change. Whether you, or the team, or the organization wants to change. Then the ability to change. Are you ready? Do you have what is needed? Followed by the permission to change. In case you need it of course. Then, last but not least, the resistance to change.

Each of these with their own unique traits. I think we could agree that you will find them wherever there is someone defying the status quo.

The Desire

Why would you like to change? If you think about it, your answer will be different than mine, or the person sitting right beside you. But somehow the bottom line behind it is: dissatisfaction, yours or others'. Why? That desire to change, comes from the pain, the discomfort this dissatisfaction causes. With that in mind, to generate change you first need to generate this discomfort with the status quo, or create awareness of that pain. 


Don't get me wrong, I am not talking about making other people's lives miserable or anything like that. In fact, if you want to change, chances are the situation is already there, whether it is caused by external factors, or internal. It may only affect you, or it may affect others too, but you want those problems to surface and be dealt with. Make them. 


Usually when extending agile through a company, the idea comes from the people feeling the pain. Those being us, developers. When that happens it is referred to as bottom-up change. This is where the idea and action starts with the people at the bottom of the structural pyramid.


On the other side, if the change comes from the top of the pyramid, it is called, yes you guessed right: top-to-bottom. I have never seen this type of change first hand myself, but I know a few guys who have. In this case, when the guys generating the change are not directly the ones who have to change, things can get a little complicated.


Top to bottom, bottom up, in any case, everyone involved needs to be on the same page and moving towards the same goal or it won't work. Creating commitment is hard. You may not know how to do it. However, one thing is for sure, whatever you do, be sure not to undermine it, or people's engagement in it.


More about some ways in which you can create awareness below.

The Ability

Now comes the next stage. Suppose you already have that desire to change. You want to move forward with using whatever flavour of  agile you want, or TDD or whatever. But the question is: are you ready?


Just wanting to do something is not enough. Yes, it's a big part of it. I personally think it's the most important part. But sadly, the successful undertaking of anything, rests on top of the ability to execute.

I always remember this great quote when I hear someone ask for something impossible. It's from a children's book.

Being ready to change, is not just about the mental state. You need to have the environment. Here are a couple of things that we have particularly been looking out for: skills, change of beliefs, and barriers.

In my experience, embracing agile comes from two things, a mind set, and an ability to focus on what's important. Ok, I can hear you saying: - but everything is important! - I like to rephrase it like this sometimes: ability to see the things that are not important, to make them not interfere with what is important. Sometimes that involves focusing on them first.


In our case, we didn't have that ecosystem that would allow us to start doing so. No continuous integration server, none or little experience or knowledge about agile, SCRUM, TDD. Lots of uncertainties about business, project and technical constraints, etc. We needed to address those, and more.  However, not all of them before we moved to applying, and not applying all of them at the same time.


You want developers to be writing code, not looking for libraries. You want your newcomers to get in line with the program and start contributing as soon as possible. You definitely don't want them wasting time on things that a machine could do and you want them to join the mindset and leave behind the baggage from years of working differently.


Improve your skills. Which skills? Well, talk to people! Ask them what problems do they have. How can you help? Why aren't things moving forward? I will talk in more detail about what you can do about skills below.


Beliefs are hard to change, but it's not impossible. Having external influence is a great help. You can talk to someone who has already gone through the same process to come and share their experiences with the team. You can also find and recognize success case studies inside the company so that people know what is expected of them. Initiative, inventiveness, resourcefulness, self-motivation are all qualities you want the team to have.


One last thought. Simplify the change process. Avoid bureaucratization or it will collapse on its own weight. 

The Permission & Support

Well, my question here was: to what extend do we need that? I definitely don't know about your particular case, but in our case, we are very result driven. That worked great for us. By that I mean, if you get work done, they won't bother in controlling every little detail, because at the end of the day they trust us to do the job. 


That's great! It is a trait of all of the agile flavors, trust people, focus on them. They are the ones that make the magic happen. But, we also have to make a living. That is a part that, as regularly paid developers (not freelancers), we usually forget. 


A lot of the time when I talk to developer friends about that, I find some disconnection between what they would like and reality. Reality being the company may want to change, they may even think it is a good idea and see the benefits, but at the end of the day it is a business, and they want to make money. You can't forget that. They need to keep the engine running and the way to make both things happen is to put your feet on the ground, and level with it.


Things we looked out for were:
Do they see the benefit? Personally, I think the best way is to show them and use their own language. It may sound harsh, but if they talk numbers, you should talk numbers. Estimate improvement. Get real data, code coverage, defects, estimated time for completion, money saved, money gained. 


Run trial projects and change within the confines of your space, they will help validate your assumptions. If you need it, ask for permission, although I personally prefer to give an apology than to ask for permission. But, be smart about it.


Again, find people who are in their same positions and went through the process, who are willing to exchange their experiences and insights with you so you can gain better understanding.


This and this are nice examples of where you can find that kind of people in Barcelona. 


How does the agile process fit into the commercialization process? Does it have an impact or are you going to keep selling the same way you have and work your magic on the background?


How much of an investment are they, and you, willing to make in the change? Will they pay for training? Will they give you time to work on what needs to be worked on but does not directly produce any income? On your side, will you for instance, be willing to go on your own budget to receive this training or spend a couple of hours after work?


What is it that they do or don't like? Ask, and communicate. 


Lots of other ideas come to mind. The list is huge. Just put yourself in their shoes and ask and answer the questions you would ask.


If you do need permission, there are ways in which you can get it. Negotiate it. You can't expect a big company to change from dawn to sunrise. Set your company's expectations and yours clearly, so that there will be no misunderstandings. Again, create awareness. Do your homework. 


Prepare a presentation for management and deliver it. Selling agile to management, can be hard, so prepare yourself. Give yourself the best chance. Get data. Find success stories. Find people in the community who are going through the same process or who already undertook the change and get them to come and talk to your guys and explain to them the benefits. Explain them yourself to your co-workers. 


Set goals and timings for the gradual implementation. It is easier to sell them a particular plan that you can refine and adjust to their concerns, than to sell the idea of change alone which leaves too many open ends.

The Resistance

There is always resistance to change. It is hard-coded in the laws of the universe. But the way we have found to deal with it, is understanding where it comes from. To do that, you have to listen. Chances are people already want to tell you. Be aware of the symptoms. Fear, discomfort, lack of communication. Listen to what people tell you.

This is where the communicative skills come in handy. Adapt to your interlocutor, put yourself in his/her shoes. Ask the question: what is it that you don't like about it or you are having problems with? And wait for an answer. Finally, think about what the person said and act accordingly, don't just rush to deliver a speech on how good agile or TDD is. If you don't put any thought and heart into it, it will just come out as fake.

Where do you start?

Start at the beginning! Where are you right now? What is it that is bothering you? What is it that you want to change about your current situation? This is simple most of the time. You already know what it is that is bothering you... Solidify your thoughts about it... Most of the time this is usually a symptom of an underlying problem. Use the 5 whys technique to find out what that underlying cause is. Have a clear vision for yourself and others to understand and follow. For instance: what does it mean to have self organized teams? What does it mean that the team or employees are participating?

Next in line is figuring out where is it that you want to go. What is it that you want to achieve? A more interesting job? Better work dynamics? Better salary? Career advancements? Find out what it is, or at least, what it is that you don't want. 

If there is something that I have learned over these past few years, it's that if you know where you want to go, you already have 5o% of the problem solved.

Finally, plan and execute the way to get there! This is tricky because you may at first not be able to see how to change the situation. You may think that some of the solutions are too hardcore for you to consider. They are not. Like I heard someone say not so long ago in a talk: think of it this way, you know how your work life has been the past three days, the past three months, maybe even the past three years... If you don't do anything about it, you already know how it's going to be in the next three days and the next three months... etc.

I am confident by now, you get my point.

Don't get paralyzed.

Now, a word of advice, don't get paralyzed! Yes, plan, but don't fall into the trap of paralysis by analysis. Break the inertia by doing something.

For instance, start playing around with new technologies at home or in your spare time. Maybe even incorporate them into a new project. The important thing here is for you to start doing something and don't stop once you have. Keep thinking about what your objectives are and increase your efforts on getting there.

Create awareness.

Create awareness sounds pretty simple, however, I sometimes hear people complaining they don't know what to do. Ok, here are some tips.


You can, for instance, send management articles about the competition to incentivize them to compete or compare with them.

Invite your colleagues or boss to webminars or seminars. In our case one of the things we did was inviting people to come over to a free seminar for a master in agile project management at laSalle. The presentation was so well delivered that the guys that went there were bursting with energy and enthusiasm about making the change!


Ask for feedback from customers and others in the team or the company. Talk about what works and what doesn't. Take a look at the current process and identify what is not working or could be improved.


Ask, what do you think will happen if you or your organization doesn't change?

Get others involved.

It's sometimes easier if you are undertaking a particular challenge with someone else. If you want to get someone else involved and you think that would help you, go ahead. It may be as simple as asking them! If you are feeling the pain, chances are someone else is walking in the same shoes. It is a great idea!


In our case I had the luck of having the support and help of great guys that were the fuel behind it all. They, more than anyone made everything possible. I'm really glad about that.

Find the barriers.

There will always be barriers and constraints. We need to know about them so that we can lift, and work around them. The base for this is communication. 

Almost the first thing we did after deciding that we wanted the change, was getting together and under suitable circumstances do some debugging of the processes we were following. What works, what doesn't. What were the options and the constraints we were aware of.  

We got together and made a list of all the problems that were affecting us, divided them in recognizable groups, and tried to find distinguishable roots for the problems, some technical, other managerial, personal, etc. so that we would better understand how to change them. 


Improve your skills.

Hone your skills, not just as a developer, but as a communicator. It will be useful.

Learn whatever it is that you need and when you know what you are doing, teach it to others. They say you remember only 15% of what you studied but 90% of what you taught.

Again, in our case, we organized a set of talks on the different subjects that we were interested in like: TDD, SOLID, Designing for test-ability, etc. 


We also sent links of free webminars and other free training sessions and resources like Coding Dojos, etc. to everyone interested.


We started helping  people to interact more with the agile community here in Barcelona, to promote the experiences and information exchange. Also, we used pair programming as a way of shortening the learning curve.


In general, we tried to create a friendly environment for learning. By that I mean, we got books, digital or not and made them visible and available to everyone who needed or wanted them. We also tried to allow time for learning, whether it is after hours (like in our case) or not.

Well, I have other stories from the trenches, but I think it is enough for now. Until another post and don't forget to start doing something about it. Above all things: have fun doing it! I know I am.