What is it about many software development projects that cause smart people to suggest that a last-minute-panic is in fact just the nature of doing software development? Someone used nearly those exact words today in an email to me, which spurred me to thinking this evening about the issue in general. <\/p>\n
Rarely is the last-minute-panic<\/em> just a minute<\/em>, rather it is a week or more of extra stress, long hours, and weekend work. I’ve only ever worked in the software industry, so I can’t compare to other industries that might be creating products. No matter how many books are published about the topic… the panic is still far too common place. <\/p>\n I know I’ve been part of projects where there was this panic, long hours, etc. However, it’s never sat quite right with me — it felt, wrong. <\/em><\/p>\n What have you done to combat this issue? Do you follow some particular methodology that nearly eliminates this problem? Or, do you practice feature cutting, or … what? Is doing software development that unpredictable, or is it somehow the nature of software developers …?<\/p>\n I’d really like to hear what you’re doing (successful or otherwise). Leave a comment or link here from your own blog.<\/p>\n (Updated to fix typo and clarify one tiny thing)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What is it about many software development projects that cause smart people to suggest that a last-minute-panic is in fact just the nature of doing software development? Someone used nearly those exact words today in an email to me, which spurred me to thinking this evening about the issue in general. Rarely is the last-minute-panic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pd5QIe-7Y","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1508,"url":"https:\/\/www.wiredprairie.us\/blog\/index.php\/archives\/1508","url_meta":{"origin":494,"position":0},"title":"Nest Thermostat Review, Update #9","date":"January 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary\/Index When I woke up this morning, I decided that I\u2019d use the remote features of my Nest Thermostat to increase the temperature of the first floor as the normal schedule hadn\u2019t started yet. Here\u2019s what I saw on my iPad: Basement: ? First Floor: ? When I tapped the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","img":{"alt_text":"image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wiredprairie.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/image23.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1749,"url":"https:\/\/www.wiredprairie.us\/blog\/index.php\/archives\/1749","url_meta":{"origin":494,"position":1},"title":"Nest Update #12: Software at 3.0 with New Features","date":"October 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"As the blogosphere exploded yesterday with news of a second generation Nest thermostat and a new major version of the software (for the thermostats and the controllers such as the web site and various SmartPhones), I wondered what impact the new software and hardware would have on average users, like\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Recommendations"","img":{"alt_text":"IMG_0630","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wiredprairie.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/IMG_0630.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1382,"url":"https:\/\/www.wiredprairie.us\/blog\/index.php\/archives\/1382","url_meta":{"origin":494,"position":2},"title":"Nest Thermostat Review, Update #4","date":"January 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Update #6, Update #5, Update #4, Update #3, Update #2, Update #1, Install A bit more about my Nest thermostat experiences. 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If you did a survey of 100 adults in the USA to name a board-game, I'd bet Monopoly would\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wiredprairie.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/TicketToRideBanner.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1340,"url":"https:\/\/www.wiredprairie.us\/blog\/index.php\/archives\/1340","url_meta":{"origin":494,"position":5},"title":"Nest Thermostat Review, Update #1","date":"December 27, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"After a few weeks of using the Nest thermostat, I\u2019ve got a few more comments that I\u2019d like to share. (Here\u2019s my post about the installation). The learning feature honestly hasn\u2019t been very useful in the first few weeks. 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