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If numbers come into play then quantification is implicit. Most of the projects I begin, I start estimating use cases in “High, Medium, Low” or “Small, Medium, Large”. Before the development starts we need to know how long something is going to take, hence we estimate. When we arrive at an estimate and put a schedule in place, subconsciously every one gets tuned to the numbers.

The numbers help in planning and helps the first release goes through; then the economical activities begin. Questions start arising like ‘Why two use cases estimated to be of the same size when one of them have fewer tasks?’ or ‘Why did two use cases with similar sizes take different times to complete?’. The completion of the use cases is what shows up as progress and slowly an illusion is created that the reduction in estimate is equal to the money saved. This leads to addition of scope similar to salami slicing.

The effect of salami slicing becomes visible over the course of time and developers begin to compensate by increasing the estimate. This vicious cycle leads to inflation and deflation of estimates, which in turn affects the project management’s ability to predict and plan. Quantitative/Objective measurement gives an illusion of control but will eventually affect the team’s ability to deliver value because there are lots of parameters which affects how something can be done; attaching a number to it will create those numbers to behave like currency. When we have something like a currency then we have economics.

Should estimation be very accurate?; No, it is like saying that with all the historic data and current conditions, we will be able to predict the outcome of cricket matches accurate to the number of runs scored. We should have estimates only as a guideline for planning and acknowledge that pin point accuracy will never be possible. Productivity is a result of so many factors and trying to assess that with a single number will result in expending time and energy away from productive tasks.

Image: jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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For a long time I have been under the impression that bringing home a salary at the end of the month is what I can get out of a job. It is also customary to express money earned per year as compensation. It was not until one of my friends in HR explained to me the difference between compensation and salary and I should always look whether I am being compensated or not.

How do I know if I am adequately compensated? The workplace must compensate us for what we are doing at the office so that we don’t regret not pursuing hobbies or holidays. Salary enables us to take care of all the basic necessities in day to day life. If we are just salaried and not compensated, we may end up not having a balance between work and life. Adequate compensation takes into account working hours, long term benefits (including health and wellness), salary, brand, peers and many more parameters. Over the course of the time our priorities change, so do our needs on parts of the compensation; we should keep in mind not to be misled by just tracking one of the parameters of the compensation.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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A Qantas flight from Singapore to Perth did some uncommanded moves that injured people on board and put the aircraft at the risk of crashing. The skilled pilots gained control of the aircraft and landed it safely. Investigation reports stated that, the sensors fed wrong data to the aircraft’s computer and it triggered a panic reaction to do course correction. There was a long two minute delay when the aircraft behaved erratically and when the pilots assumed control overriding the computer. There was a delay because, the pilots were confused why the plane makes these moves when the visual feedback from the cockpit window is perfectly fine; this made jump them through a series of quick recollection of what to do in this situation and after two minutes they disengage the auto pilot. The altitude was very high and hence there was enough time to recover, that 120 seconds did not matter much. If the aircraft had been flying lower, it would have crashed.

Feedback is essential part of any workplace. It is necessary to be 360 degrees as it conveys key information about the environment to an individual. In many organizations it is part and parcel of the workplace culture. When feedback is helpful, acting blindly on it might not provide good results to us. There will be an influence of personality clashes, perceptions, prejudices. Receiving those feedback will leave us in a situation where we observe a disturbing dissonance; just like how the pilots were thinking that the aircraft is flying fine as per their visual feedback but the sensors feed in wrong data. Panic reactions or worries about career path arises a lot when feedback is received as a part of the performance appraisal. In those situations it is necessary to take all the data with a pinch of salt and plan the next steps with a long term goal in mind taking into account of all the priorities. A knee jerk reaction to correct oneself will often result in short term gains and might not be aligned with the individual needs and priorities.

The disconnect in an uncommanded maneuver in career will be quite disturbing. Through a healthy cycle of feedback and introspection such situations can be avoided. Dissonance is what causes unexpected outcomes and wrong perceptions, we should learn to remove it off our radar.