Software Craftsman, The: Professionalism, Pragmatism, Pride (Robert C. Martin Series)

by Sandro Mancuso

Some managers can be very persuasive in getting developers to commit to a tough deadline. “Guys, you know how important this is. I know it will be tough but I trust you. We really need to get this done. I’m sure if you guys work hard you will be able to deliver.” In order to avoid confrontation or to demonstrate a can-do attitude, developers respond: “OK. We will try our best.” When we say we are going to try, two things normally happen: the person or people we say that to will understand that we are going to deliver it. For them, “trying” is equal to “yes, it will be done.” The other thing is that we are explicitly saying that we do not normally work hard. It is almost like saying we are normally saving energy and we could use it to speed up at any point in time.