This post originated from an RSS feed registered with Agile Buzz by Kevin Rutherford. Original Post: listing problems instead of solutions Feed Title: silk and spinach Feed URL: http://silkandspinach.net/blog/index.xml Feed Description: kevin rutherford on agile software development and life in macclesfield Latest Agile Buzz Posts Latest Agile Buzz Posts by Kevin Rutherford Latest Posts From silk and spinach

I've just noticed that one of my practices has changed subtly, probably sometime during the last six months or so:

I've always (ie. at least for the last twenty-five years) kept a to-do list during each programming episode. The list begins with one entry, describing the goal I'm working towards. And as I read and write code, new entries are added to make sure I go back and fix or refactor everything I see along the way. Until recently, those additional entries tended to describe an outcome - "split class Foo to create Bar and Xyzzy", or "wrap x and y into a Mouse class", for example. But recently I've noticed myself tending to write entries that describe the problem - "class Foo too large", "x,y travel around together".

I have no idea how, why or when this change happened, but I'm pleased it did. Between the time I write a particular to-do item and the time I finally get around to executing it, I may significantly change the code in that area. Or I may learn something about the code and where it wants to go next. Or the problem may disappear, as a side-effect of some other change. Either way, the solution I might have on my to-do list has a chance of being inappropriate now that the code and I have moved on. So by listing the problem as I originally saw it, I'm giving myself a much better chance of creating the right solution for it - because I'm deciding on that solution in the presence of the full facts.

I've recently been re-doing a few kata that I first tried a couple of years ago. I've noticed that my results are dramatically better now, mostly I think due to delaying the moment at which I decide how to solve each micro-problem. This effect is an example of Mary Poppendieck's "decide as late as possible" maxim. There are clear benefits in terms of the quality of my designs; and there are psychological benefits too, because I don't have to spend time trying to remember why I wanted to do each item on the list. Everyone wins.