git.r.bdr.sh - rbdr/blog.unlimited.pizza/blob - archive/1644174527037/stop-the-ship-from-sinking-first.gmi

   1 # Stop the ship from sinking first.
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   3 Many times I've heard teams complain about an unfavorable situation in their codebase or organization with a variant of: *"If only we had/hadn't done/followed/bought X, then we wouldn't be in this situation"*, and of course an implied *If only we had listened to me*.
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   5 While you might be correct, the fact is you're currently in a sinking ship, so unless you have access to some sort of time travel device, that's not going to help you get out of the situation.
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   7 So if you're currently struggling with technical debt, organizational chaos, or any other sort of bad situation you can't escape, take a look around and ask: What's the negative effect this is having and how can I stop it from happening. Once you do that, you'll find you have more time, energy and space to tackle the problem at its root.
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   9 It's much easier to plan and design a better ship when you're not currently sinking. So, stop the ship from sinking first.