Seldomly is software projects mentioned in the same sentence as dating advice. Yet we find the similarities between software projects and relationships to be astonishing. Both are filled with high expectations, sometimes broken promises, overly confidence in our own abilities, and a tendency to end up with something (or someone) that was not quite as expected. So maybe, just maybe, some healthy dating advice could help you become successful in your next software project or when choosing a new software platform. So here we have listed some advice from the world of dating and how this advice should apply to your next software move.
Don't Change Yourself For Someone Else
"Stay true to yourself. Don't bend for others", says Eileen Kelly to elitedaily.com.
This could not be any truer when selecting or implementing a software solution. Too often companies are forced to compromise on their way of working to get the software to fit their organization. Your operations are unique, but you might get tempted to "just buy that shelfware" that is promised to work "out of the box" - the same way you might be enticed by that sporty guy or gal, even if you are more of a "Netflix and cheesecake" type of person. In both scenarios, you will find yourself unrooted. In the world of business, you will be forced to change your company's vocabulary to try to fit this new "shelfware", running around telling people to "not use that field", "if you just click here and here, and you will find it" or "just send me an email and I will update it for you". You just went from binge-watching "Rick & Morty" to hiking up Mount Killamanjaro. So if you are not looking to change your whole persona in the dating world, why should you change your way of working when implementing a software solution?
Make Sure Your Dating Life Feels Easy
"You should be able to live your normal life without any problems when you’re dating", says Miz Cracker to elitedaily.com.
The same goes for any software that you choose. Is the software helping you be more productive and in better control? Or do you feel that you are just dumping data into a black void without seeing the value? In simple terms, does the software make your work-life easier? If your way of working changes, is the software able to change with you? These are key questions to ask yourself because your "software life should feel easy".
Treat Dating Like An Experiment
"Treating dates like a way of gathering information about yourself and what you want and don't want "allows you to de-emphasize the other person and empower yourself", says Clarissa Silva to elitedaily.com.
In the world of software implementations, we are all familiar with the traditional waterfall- model. We have that overall arching "design phase" and we think we can consider all variables and all requirements. We enter this "god mode" believing that we have the foresight to know exactly what we want and exactly how to implement it - a pretty grandiose position to take that has somehow become "best practice" in many companies.
The same sentiment of "treating dates like a way of gathering information about yourself" is being applied by the best companies when they implement new software solutions. Break the implementation into small sprints, do not chew over too much, and iteratively test it with your organization. And when we say test, we do not mean in a lab where you test with fictitious scenarios - get it into production and improve and expand as the feedback comes from real users. Implementing new software is a great way of learning how your organization actually works, the same way dating is a great way of learning how you as a person operate.
Learn To Say “No”
"Learning to say no without worrying if they’re still going to “like you” is incredibly hard but so beneficial for your mental health", says Katina Tarver to elitedaily.com.
This one goes out to all the product managers and project managers out there. We know saying "No" is extremely difficult. You would like to let all departments have their say and approach the implementation with equality and inclusion. Unfortunately, what you will end up with is an ever-expanding timeline, half-baked features, and never being able to get the product into production. This is very much linked to "treating the implementation as an experiment", but we felt we needed to highlight it: Say "No", focus on smaller deliveries, and get it into production. Then start turning those "No`s" into "Yes`".
And Now For The Courting
You couldn't expect us to write about dating advice without allowing us to do a little bit of courting ourselves. In Konciv we pride ourselves to adhere to the advice here as best as we can. And we do look at our customers as real partners, so applying dating advice to software projects might not be too much of a stretch for us here at Konciv.
We focus all of our energy to build a flexible solution that allows you to tailor it to the way you work. It's even in our name, Konciv (abbreviation of conceiving) - we want our customers to conceive their own solutions based on the flexibility we offer.
In the world of dating paying by the hour is a big no-no (for obvious reasons) and is in no way a good foundation for a long-term relationship. Predictability on the other hand is very much a great start. That's why we always share the risk with our customers and never apply hourly charges for implementation or support and you start paying when you start using the software (so don't do the dishes before you have had your dinner).
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