{
  "author": {
    "name": "Dylan Fitzgerald",
    "url": "https://dylanfitzgerald.net/"
  },
  "blyg": "0.4",
  "changelog": [
    {
      "at": "2024-09-28T03:06:00Z",
      "note": "Imported from the Ctrl+Shift archive",
      "version": 1
    }
  ],
  "content_hash": "sha256:1aee466c629763da9befb71d38ce8f52a6afc692c84ef8079e43655c72789be2",
  "content_html": "\u003ch1\u003eWhat darkness lies between decisions?\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cfigure\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https://dylanfitzgerald.net/ox-hugo/daltoris_a_footstone_path_suspended_in_the_void_with_medium_spa_734c7317-c16e-4eba-9746-49b62ea5f8c8.jpg\"\n\t\t\talt=\"a footstone path in the void with a single person traversing it\" width=\"40%\"\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWork is simply whatever we must do to get from one decision to the next.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"CITE\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://venkateshrao.com/\"\u003eVenkatesh Rao\u003c/a\u003e,  \u003cem\u003eTempo\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003c!--quoteend--\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn important metric: How many questions can you ask your system in a day?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"CITE\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://justin.searls.co/\"\u003eJustin Searls\u003c/a\u003e (paraphrased from memory)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the field of software development, many of us are already familiar with the extreme value of tight feedback loops as applied directly to writing code. Test-driven development\u0026rsquo;s \u0026ldquo;Red-Green-Refactor\u0026rdquo; development loop is a microcosm of this mindset, in which a programmer is given feedback on their function under development in ideally a few seconds at most. This also gets applied with the practices of continuous integration and deployment\u0026ndash;or at least, such is the intention.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s curious, then, that we\u0026rsquo;re much less explicit about optimizing shortening the distance between decisions from a leadership perspective. Especially as Agile-as-practiced has degraded into a collection of prescriptive ceremonies without users understanding their intent, much of our focus has shifted to the performance of the stuff that comes between decisions, rather than finding ways to squash it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUltimately, this is the job, admittedly simplified:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat\u0026rsquo;s the next decision you or your team needs to make?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat do you want before making that decision?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat \u003cspan class=\"underline\"\u003eactually\u003c/span\u003e keeps you from making that decision right now?\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDo you actually need more information, or can you make a provisional decision and backtrack without losing too much time/effort?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAre there other decisions this depends upon first? Restart this cycle with that/those decision(s).\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMake the decision\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMove on and start this loop again\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe rest is either noise or semantics.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat else do you have between \u003cspan class=\"underline\"\u003eyour\u003c/span\u003e decisions? And what of that can you get rid of?\u003c/p\u003e\n",
  "content_md": "# What darkness lies between decisions?\n\n{{\u003c figure src=\"/ox-hugo/daltoris_a_footstone_path_suspended_in_the_void_with_medium_spa_734c7317-c16e-4eba-9746-49b62ea5f8c8.jpg\" alt=\"a footstone path in the void with a single person traversing it\" width=\"40%\" \u003e}}\n\n\u003e Work is simply whatever we must do to get from one decision to the next.\n\u003e\n\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CITE\"\u003e\n\u003e\n\u003e [Venkatesh Rao](https://venkateshrao.com/),  _Tempo_\n\u003e\n\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003c!--quoteend--\u003e\n\n\u003e An important metric: How many questions can you ask your system in a day?\n\u003e\n\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CITE\"\u003e\n\u003e\n\u003e [Justin Searls](https://justin.searls.co/) (paraphrased from memory)\n\u003e\n\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\nIn the field of software development, many of us are already familiar with the extreme value of tight feedback loops as applied directly to writing code. Test-driven development's \"Red-Green-Refactor\" development loop is a microcosm of this mindset, in which a programmer is given feedback on their function under development in ideally a few seconds at most. This also gets applied with the practices of continuous integration and deployment--or at least, such is the intention.\n\nIt's curious, then, that we're much less explicit about optimizing shortening the distance between decisions from a leadership perspective. Especially as Agile-as-practiced has degraded into a collection of prescriptive ceremonies without users understanding their intent, much of our focus has shifted to the performance of the stuff that comes between decisions, rather than finding ways to squash it.\n\nUltimately, this is the job, admittedly simplified:\n\n-   What's the next decision you or your team needs to make?\n-   What do you want before making that decision?\n-   What \u003cspan class=\"underline\"\u003eactually\u003c/span\u003e keeps you from making that decision right now?\n    -   Do you actually need more information, or can you make a provisional decision and backtrack without losing too much time/effort?\n    -   Are there other decisions this depends upon first? Restart this cycle with that/those decision(s).\n-   Make the decision\n-   Move on and start this loop again\n\nThe rest is either noise or semantics.\n\nWhat else do you have between \u003cspan class=\"underline\"\u003eyour\u003c/span\u003e decisions? And what of that can you get rid of?",
  "created": "2024-09-28T03:06:00Z",
  "id": "3gvbzckajgew9b8jxkp0w63t57",
  "kind": "thread",
  "media": [],
  "origin": "https://dylanfitzgerald.net/blyg/",
  "page": "https://dylanfitzgerald.net/blog/what-darkness-lies-between-decisions/",
  "transclusions": [],
  "updated": "2024-09-28T03:06:00Z",
  "version": 1
}