5 ms·
Some quotes from a guy who went mad thinking about quality. In short, you don't want to stop talking about quality but learn how to move toward it. And no, qual
by joslin01 11y ago
Some quotes from a guy who went mad thinking about quality. In short, you don't want to stop talking about quality but learn how to move toward it. And no, quality is not a boolean value nor does it have to create fears of judgment. These are just effects of striving for idealism.
“Care and Quality are internal and external aspects of the same thing. A person who sees Quality and feels it as he works is a person who cares. A person who cares about what he sees and does is a person who’s bound to have some characteristic of quality.”
― Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values
“You’ve got to live right, too. It’s the way you live that predisposes you to avoid the traps and see the right facts. You want to know how to paint a perfect painting? It’s easy. Make yourself perfect and then just paint naturally. That’s the way all the experts do it. The making of a painting or the fixing of a motorcycle isn’t separate from the rest of your existence. If you’re a sloppy thinker the six days of the week you aren’t working on your machine, what trap avoidance, what gimmicks, can make you all of a sudden sharp on the seventh? It all goes together ... The real cycle you're working in is a cycle called yourself. The machine that appears to be "out there" and the person that appears to be "in here" are not two separate things. They grow toward Quality or fall away from Quality together.”
― Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values
- mikeyouse 11y agoExactly what I thought of as well.. I know it's cliche but Zen really helped me clarify my thoughts on quality and the different ways to pursue it.
- hencq 11y agoI went to the comments to mention Zen and was glad it was already the top comment. I was lucky enough to get introduced to it early in college as it really got me thinking about quality. I should probably re-read it again to see if my thinking evolved since.
- joslin01 11y agoSame here. I was fortunate to read it when I was young & impressionable (~16). It left a profound effect on me that's hard to succinctly express.
- draw_down 11y agoI read that book in college and enjoyed it. I must confess I have no idea what to do with those quotes in the context of software development.
- dsugarman 11y agoOPs point is that there is a pattern they see where people use the word quality and make an ultimatum. They would rather see people have a deeper discussion on constraints and generally show more empathy rather than constantly using a one liner that cuts off communication.
- bonniemuffin 11y agoI definitely agree that quality doesn't have to be a boolean, and it also doesn't have to be a loaded term like the author seems to believe. I have a lot of discussions at work that end with something like "we all agree that X would be the quality/elegant/long-term solution, but we don't have time to do X right now, so we'll do the hacky solution Y until we have time to implement X." These are good decisions! The immediate problem gets solved fast, and we've identified a really good elegant solution and given ourselves enough time to implement it.