C. Keith Ray

C. Keith Ray writes about and develops software in multiple platforms and languages, including iOS® and Macintosh®.
Keith's Résumé (pdf)

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Do the Hard Thing

(Originally posted 2003.Mar.28 Fri; links may have expired.)


Watching the TV show Boston Public, Principal Harper was a telling a student something like "when you have a choice, pick the hard choice. Nine times out of ten, it will be the right one." That rings true.

In developing software, writing tests is hard, so XP does it all the time. Design is hard to get right, so XP does it all the time. Communicating requirements is hard, so XP does it all the time (by talking to the person playing the role of Customer.) By doing these things all the time, we make them easy.

In corporations, telling someone the truth can be hard; standing up against peer and management pressure to avoid reality can be hard. Doing the right thing, tactfully, is hard, but more rewarding than living in the hell caused by ignoring reality.

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