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First thing to do is issue a NERD ALERT! This article is going to get right down hard into the nitty gritty of the world of a digital agency, be it developer, designer, project manager or business owner this is aimed at you. I’m sure this will relate to other interests and sectors however i’m going to write about what i know.
Nothing winds me up more than feeling i’m not being heard. Being ignored or feeling like my peers are there to stop any creative output I have is the most deflating thing in the world. As a developer or designer it’s your role to come up with solutions to problems that businesses throw at you. So when it comes to the company that you spend most of your day at, of course you are going to be able to come up with suggestions and ideas to make things better! I firmly believe that routine and “that’s how we have always done it” are real creativity killers.
So when people ask me “how do I implement agile at company X” it’s never going to be something I can answer, it’s like asking how do you convert people from heinz to branston beans. I mean the fact that they just taste better, that isn’t going to phase the camp that have always bought and been fed heinz beans. No matter how good the marketing is, until you try some you won’t get hooked.
As the spokes people for the digital world we have a horrible knack of thinking people understand us. Something that seems a basic concept to us in our fast paced ever evolving digital platform isn’t going to excite a business owner, just make them think it will be outdated quicker. So how do you talk to the person you need to and persuade them it’s a good idea to change a tried and tested method. Well you make them some beans and make them eat them. Why do you think readers of my blog are 90% mac and over 50% rails. They tried it, loved it and made the change. So sit your boss down and say “on this next project i would like to do it this way”
If it works then you can review and implement it, if it doesn’t then everybody can carry on the way they always have, maybe you were wrong, maybe the project was wrong, but i guarantee it that you will work your nuts off trying something you love! So your boss would be a fool not to let you go for it.
Over the coming weeks I am going to get a little hardcore, rant about the way everybody should work, it won’t suit everybody and will hopefully spark a debate.
Git, rails, cucumber, blueprint, agile, mac, textmate.
It’s going to get religious!
