Continuous Delivery: Progress is the foundation of happiness
How visible progress influences stakeholders and outcomes
Can you say, "Progress (Continuous Delivery) is the foundation of happiness?"
Adopting trunk-based Development (TBD) to achieve continuous delivery allows teams to experience uninterrupted Progress, mirroring the human desire for continual advancement that is foundational to happiness. By eliminating bottlenecks and granting autonomy, TBD improves workflow and contributes to a satisfying sense of achievement and well-being among developers.
The Balanced Perspective of a CTO: Bridging Business and Engineering
As a CTO, I am uniquely positioned to sit between business stakeholders (clients, sales, product teams) and operational engineering. This provides me with a holistic view that is invaluable for driving positive outcomes.
The Conundrum: Balancing Business Constraints with Development Flexibility
Before establishing a consistent positive impact, it's crucial to consider the business aspect. We're under pressure to deliver "value" within predefined constraints: meeting requirements, sticking to deadlines, and managing budgets. These business necessities often conflict with the need for an agile and flexible development process. Here, "agile" refers to the general philosophy of adaptability rather than any specific methodology.
The Stress Points: Where Business and Development Collide
This clash between fixed business goals and the variable nature of development often leads to tension and inevitable stress. Common pitfalls include:
Poorly Defined Requirements: Lack of clear expectations can set the stage for failure.
Overruns in Time and Budget: The flexible nature of development can lead to delays and escalating costs.
Inconsistent Metrics for Success: When requirements are fluid and change during the course of development, it becomes challenging to measure results objectively.
The Panacea: Trunk-Based Development and Continuous Delivery
Adopting Trunk-Based Development (TBD) as a pathway to achieve Continuous Delivery offers a harmonious resolution to these challenges. TBD promotes a smoother workflow by removing bottlenecks and empowering developers with more autonomy. The ensuing sense of continuous progress resonates with our fundamental human need for advancement, thus fostering a culture of happiness and well-being among developers.
Why Visible Progress Matters: The Psychological Angle
It's worth mentioning that visible progress isn't just a "nice-to-have"; it's a psychological need. Even when projects stretch beyond their original scope or timeline, the perception of ongoing progress significantly impacts stakeholders' attitudes. This is especially crucial in tech-driven projects, where the issues are too complex to be reduced to a binary metric.
👉 Progress is the foundation of happiness.
Continuous Delivery in development will significantly contribute to the ongoing sense of Progress
By aligning Business and Development to work together, we achieve visible Progress through the continuous production of incremental results rather than binary features. For humans, the experience of making Progress is akin to being in motion; it brings happiness because we know that results are occurring in real-time, starkly contrasting to stagnation and resistance.
Therefore, I argue that adopting the general principle of Continuous Delivery in development will significantly contribute to the ongoing sense of Progress and happiness, benefitting both the business and development sectors.
Even when projects or features take longer than expected, stakeholders' moods are heavily influenced by visible Progress. Questions such as "Are we on track?", "How much longer will it take?" and "What are the circumstances?" become critical.
It's impossible to reduce the complex problems in a tech-driven project to a simple binary boolean “yes” or “no.”
Thank you for reading,
Adrian
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Appendix
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about Trunk Based Development:https://www.linkedin.com/events/trunk-baseddevelopment-engineer7116851202838925312/comments/
Once you go TBD you never go back!