4 ms·

Love this bit: “Sometimes you’re stuck on a problem, and there just don’t seem to be any great solutions: maybe it’s related to a piece of code you’re writing,

by firasd 9y ago

Love this bit: “Sometimes you’re stuck on a problem, and there just don’t seem to be any great solutions: maybe it’s related to a piece of code you’re writing, or decisions around how you’re going to market your app. Then, you start thinking about the problem from a wider perspective. You realize that you won’t need to even write the tricky piece of code if you architect it the right way, and that the marketing decision is one your friend (who has a knack for that sort of problem) would know how to tackle. You could sum it up as ‘taking a step back’ from the problem.” Taking a literal step away tends to help. I've often realized new approaches or epiphanies when mulling a problem while walking or in the subway.

wavefunction 9y ago
I like night-walking. The cool night air, the relative silence, the reduction of the horizon to whatever range of light my eyes can perceive... It all helps me focus and think about the primary considerations involved...
- tEMporality7 9y ago
  > The cool night air, the relative silence, the reduction of the horizon to whatever range of light my eyes can perceive... The serial killer hiding in the bushes... Edit: Jokes aside, I agree. It is very calming.
  - andai 9y ago
    Eh, still worth it if you ask me :)
lacampbell 9y ago
On solo projects I've been experimenting with a technique that sounds a bit silly but seems to help a bit. I try and take off my programmer hat, or even my analyst hat, and try and become a stakeholder. What do I want this program to do? What will make me want to use it, and what will be a deal breaker? Once I finish thinking this through, I 'become' a programmer again and get to work. Often I find that things that seem a big deal at a coding level either don't matter, or are the wrong things to worry about.
- pdimitar 9y ago
  Doesn't work for many people. They know the theory but can't apply it. I can, but I've met plenty of bright people who simply haven't learned that ability yet. It does work wonders for myself though. I am well-balanced between wanting technical excellence, ease-of-use and usefulness. It helps my job relations a lot.
- sampl 9y ago
  This is basically design, and I'm sure it will have a big impact on the quality of what you're making.
adventured 9y ago
I agree very aggressively with this. Further, often I've found some of the biggest problems in product development, turn out to be things that can be discarded or shouldn't have been in in the first place. Something that was adding complexity unnecessarily for example, a feature that you don't know for certain will be useful, etc.; it's a hint as to the difficulty in finding a satisfactory resolution in the first place.
clusmore 9y ago
I think Emmett Shear's story in this video[1] is a fantastic example of how sometimes the best solution to a perceived problem is to take a step back and realise the problem shouldn't be solved at all. In his case, the problem of determining when to show ads during live streaming. [1] https://youtu.be/6IFR3WYSBFM?t=37m26s https://youtu.be/6IFR3WYSBFM?t=37m26s
BurningFrog 9y ago
Sleeping on it often works for me. Tomorrow-me usually has a some fresh ideas and energy.
enraged_camel 9y ago
Corollary to this: if neither Google nor Stack Overflow have the answer, you may be trying to solve the wrong problem. This is often how I realize that my approach to something is wrong, especially when exploring a new problem domain or language/tool.
- artur_makly 9y ago
  i have to respectfully disagree as this methodis too short sighted and removes all possibilities of innovation and creating something new to explore and test.
  - lllr_finger 9y ago
    I think OP's idea was that developers in most fields are very infrequently treading new ground when it comes to solving programming problems. Your business idea is where you'll likely be innovating - trying to use X language/pattern/stack to do something no other developers are talking about us a good sign that you may be going down a rabbit hole.
mrhektor 9y ago
Bit of background: my company is doing fintech and often there are seemingly insurmountable problems related to regulation or certain counter-parties. Taking a step back is a huge help in these cases as well; often the solution is just better negotiation or a call to your lawyer friend. I used to get frustrated and send angry emails / phone calls. Now I get away from the desk for a bit and mull it over for a few hours before doing anything. The method hasn't failed me yet
ozmbie 9y ago
This is where a good Product Owner/Manager is worthwhile. They're not there to allocate resources or assign work or create schedules. They're supposed to be in that "higher perspective" headspace most of the time, so that by the time their decisions turn into actionable work...it's been through these mental filters.

by firasd 9y ago

wavefunction 9y ago

I like night-walking. The cool night air, the relative silence, the reduction of the horizon to whatever range of light my eyes can perceive... It all helps me focus and think about the primary considerations involved...

tEMporality7 9y ago
> The cool night air, the relative silence, the reduction of the horizon to whatever range of light my eyes can perceive... The serial killer hiding in the bushes... Edit: Jokes aside, I agree. It is very calming.
- andai 9y ago
  Eh, still worth it if you ask me :)

lacampbell 9y ago

On solo projects I've been experimenting with a technique that sounds a bit silly but seems to help a bit. I try and take off my programmer hat, or even my analyst hat, and try and become a stakeholder. What do I want this program to do? What will make me want to use it, and what will be a deal breaker? Once I finish thinking this through, I 'become' a programmer again and get to work. Often I find that things that seem a big deal at a coding level either don't matter, or are the wrong things to worry about.

pdimitar 9y ago
Doesn't work for many people. They know the theory but can't apply it. I can, but I've met plenty of bright people who simply haven't learned that ability yet. It does work wonders for myself though. I am well-balanced between wanting technical excellence, ease-of-use and usefulness. It helps my job relations a lot.
sampl 9y ago
This is basically design, and I'm sure it will have a big impact on the quality of what you're making.

adventured 9y ago

I agree very aggressively with this. Further, often I've found some of the biggest problems in product development, turn out to be things that can be discarded or shouldn't have been in in the first place. Something that was adding complexity unnecessarily for example, a feature that you don't know for certain will be useful, etc.; it's a hint as to the difficulty in finding a satisfactory resolution in the first place.

clusmore 9y ago

I think Emmett Shear's story in this video[1] is a fantastic example of how sometimes the best solution to a perceived problem is to take a step back and realise the problem shouldn't be solved at all. In his case, the problem of determining when to show ads during live streaming. [1] https://youtu.be/6IFR3WYSBFM?t=37m26s https://youtu.be/6IFR3WYSBFM?t=37m26s

BurningFrog 9y ago

Sleeping on it often works for me. Tomorrow-me usually has a some fresh ideas and energy.

enraged_camel 9y ago

Corollary to this: if neither Google nor Stack Overflow have the answer, you may be trying to solve the wrong problem. This is often how I realize that my approach to something is wrong, especially when exploring a new problem domain or language/tool.

artur_makly 9y ago
i have to respectfully disagree as this methodis too short sighted and removes all possibilities of innovation and creating something new to explore and test.
- lllr_finger 9y ago
  I think OP's idea was that developers in most fields are very infrequently treading new ground when it comes to solving programming problems. Your business idea is where you'll likely be innovating - trying to use X language/pattern/stack to do something no other developers are talking about us a good sign that you may be going down a rabbit hole.

mrhektor 9y ago

Bit of background: my company is doing fintech and often there are seemingly insurmountable problems related to regulation or certain counter-parties. Taking a step back is a huge help in these cases as well; often the solution is just better negotiation or a call to your lawyer friend. I used to get frustrated and send angry emails / phone calls. Now I get away from the desk for a bit and mull it over for a few hours before doing anything. The method hasn't failed me yet

ozmbie 9y ago

This is where a good Product Owner/Manager is worthwhile. They're not there to allocate resources or assign work or create schedules. They're supposed to be in that "higher perspective" headspace most of the time, so that by the time their decisions turn into actionable work...it's been through these mental filters.