Code Quality Part 2: Cut down the Muda

 

 So what to next, next step is to create time to build software. What, are you thinking, what are we doing the whole workday? Most teams have a feature output close to zero. Mostly the whole time is consumed by fixing things, meetings or wastings. IMHO Muda in Software development means wasting time. So we have to fight the Muda to get development time. I’m not sure if all of these thing are Muda or other kinds of wastefulness. But here my top list where you surely find inspiration for your Muda cuts. There is no special order on the items.

    • Strictly Timebox meetings, every participant would be thankful
    • Put small breaks into meetings, eg. after 1 hour
    • No back to back meeting. Put some spare time like 10 min meetings. This keeps you fresh. You have time to stand-up and walk, take a coffee. This is not a overflow time box.
    • Strictly Timebox meetings, every participant would be thankful
    • Put small breaks into meetings, eg. after 1 hour
    • No back to back meeting. Put some spare time like 10 min meetings. This keeps you fresh. You have time to stand-up and walk, take a coffee. This is not a overflow time box.
 

1. Participate only to meetings that are really relevant to your work.
2. Keep the circle of meeting participants as close as possible.
3. Meetings are the punishment for not collaboration.
4. Accelerate development
5. Improve technical processes 
1. Automate manual steps 
2. Remove dead code and tests
3. Remove dead dependencies
4. reduce compile time
5. reduce test time
6. fail faster, try to move tests down in testing pyramid
7. Faster Hardware and better OS

Is tech debt a kind of Muda? Is tech debt a time eater? The answer is yes, it is. Tech debt generates bugs, because of the tech debt these bugs are fixed with quick and dirty fixes, this increases the tech debt and the code complexity which leads us to more tech debt and the tech debt cycle begins. Breaking the cycle is hard and painful and not a one point task. 

Tech debt wipes out development time in the future. Tech debt is Muda. The benefit of braking the tech debt-bug-cycle is less bugs in the future and a software that is easier (faster) to modify.