When the Train is Delayed

Every time I go to the zoo with my kids, we have a different experience.

If the kids are tired and grumpy, we might end up just seeing Lucy the elephant and the wolves. Other times, they’ve got tons of energy and we end up walking all the way to the end of the zoo to do the pony rides.

The weather also affects our experience. Rainy days can make it harder to enjoy rolling down the big grassy hill. And the snow definitely means that we can’t spend as much time visiting the outdoor exhibits.

Each of these variables can be tempered by food. Bringing snacks or buying food at the concession can help make the kids happier. Of course, taking the time to eat means slowing down the entire experience. But the extra time can also mean that the kids get tired and the cycle starts all over again. Some of my favourite times at the zoo have been on days when we’ve taken hours to go through all of the animals. Then again, some of the most difficult times have also been on days when we’ve been there for hours.

What I’m getting at is that there’s no way to know ahead of time what the kids will be like at the zoo. Despite doing my best to manage the variables, they always come up with ways to change the game. Even if they’ve had lots of sleep, the weather is perfect and I bring lots of food, there’s always situations that come up. Sammy might fall and skin his knee. Sara may choose to test her independence. Or maybe they both decide that they need to be bribed with ice cream.

While a plan is useful and sometimes followed, it’s useless for me to stubbornly stick to a plan in the face of toddler reality. Whether it’s called “rolling with the punches”, “taking it day by day” or simply “a day at the zoo”, the kids have taught me to be adaptable.

Herm Edwards, NFL Coach and ESPN football analyst, often talks about how quarterbacks deal with situations “when the train is delayed”. That is, the planned play has broken down and the quarterback has to improvise. Getting outside of containment, using his brain and his talent rather than blindly following a broken play, the quarterback that can make a play when the train is delayed gives his team more opportunities for success. While my kids don’t compare physically with 300 pound defensive linemen, my need to be adaptable with them is just as real.

So what does this all have to do with software development?

That’s easy – how many times have you been on a project when the train got delayed? Maybe your requirements changed. Or you didn’t know how to implement something technical. Or the budget got reduced. Or maybe it was something as simple as somebody screwing up. If your projects are anything like mine, the train gets delayed all the time no matter how good the plan is.

And that’s why it’s so important to be able to adapt. Whether you’re dealing with cranky kids at the zoo, 300 pound guys that want to squish you into the field or a project sponsor that continually changes her mind, you need to be able to adapt to be successful. And a rigid plan is not going to allow that.