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I'm convinced the most effective way to rally engineers under a common cause and a unified vision is not with individual tech specs, fuzzy PRDs and sprints of w
by dcow 9y ago
I'm convinced the most effective way to rally engineers under a common cause and a unified vision is not with individual tech specs, fuzzy PRDs and sprints of work, but with an RFC. Writing an RFC demonstrates that you have thought enough about a problem to devise a working solution that is not rash but also admittedly not perfect (unless it is). RFCs are so much more than technical prose. They're context and history and rationale and concensus all at once.
Unfortunately, many engineers and managers scoff at the idea of writing an RFC because of the traditionally poor UX instead preferring collaboration tools and diagrams. As a coworker once put it, "diagrams are weak sauce". Collaboration software is convenient for comments and visibility, but it fails to carry the same weight as an RFC and tends to produce more ephemeral artifacts. The best thing about writing an RFC is learning how people (mis)interpret your writing. If you want to win an engineer's heart, speak their language.
- user5994461 9y agoAgreed that the way to rally is with specs... and distributing said specs (it's not enough to write the spec, it needs to get reviewed and communicated). The big challenge is that developers tend to only think of "spec" as in "technical specs", whereas the most important specifications are the context, the goals and the history (the "function specs" in project management terms).
- lifeisstillgood 9y agoI do also like the idea of dropping sprints in return for rfc bounded projects
- JoshTriplett 9y ago> Writing an RFC demonstrates that you have thought enough about a problem to devise a working solution that is not rash but also admittedly not perfect This is critical. One of the most important parts of the RFC process is that by its very nature it invites comment. It specifically invites people to poke holes in it, to find issue with it, to voice their concerns and be heard. While it doesn't promise unanimity, it promises consensus. And while every single objection may not be fully satisfied, every one of them should be addressed. An RFC averts the tendency towards an overabundance of confidence, warranted or otherwise, and instead starts a discussion.
- ams6110 9y agoOn the flip side I've seen tech people get so wrapped up in the process of writing an RFC, masturbating over the definition of words like MUST, SHOULD, and MAY that it just seems that they get more satisfaction out of the process than the content.