Weekly review cw 08
Why agile methods are essential or how gut feeling can be deceptive—my assumptions about the project's focus and challenges have shifted as I become more knowledgeable about the specialist domain.
New knowledge uncovers false assumptions
As part of our project analysis, we made assumptions about the focus of our work based on the information available at the time. An iOS app for tablets will be developed to replace the Excel documentation. It allows therapists to document their care intuitively and easily via the app instead of in Excel cells. An administration website for data maintenance was also planned to administer patients, doctors, and prescriptions. We saw the focus on mapping the therapist processes in the iOS app.
As a first step, we delved into the administration website. To achieve this, we had to learn the administration processes, master the specialist domain language, and create suitable wireframes. We modeled the data, defined domain events, and began to understand which processes led to which changes in state. The prescription workflow, in particular, was characterized by many exceptions, each of which rarely occurred individually. However, the variety of exceptional cases made the Happy Path seem more of an exception.
In the second step, we did the same work for the therapist app. It became clear that the complex processes are in administration. When working in the iOS app, the focus is on the simple entry of documentation—what used to be text entry in the Excel cell.
Our gut feelings and initial assumptions led us entirely astray. Only by understanding the specialist domain and penetrating the work processes in detail were we able to get a comprehensive picture. This phenomenon clearly shows me why agile processes are so important—why this knowledge must be incorporated into planning and development to produce a better product.
Of course, we have a work contract and must manage the balancing act between contract fulfillment and agile working methods. This challenge is transparent to our customers, and I have not yet managed to overcome this dilemma. Regardless of this challenge, our goal remains to surprise customers by exceeding their expectations and delivering an excellent product.
Sports highlights
From a sporting perspective, the week went above average. I ran thrice (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) and twice to the gym (Tuesday and Thursday). At the same time, I'm doing well with the 100 push-up challenge. My muscles have gotten used to the strain, and 30 push-ups in a row are no longer a problem.
Unfortunately, table tennis training has been somewhat reduced—on Mondays, there is only one hour of individual training, and on Fridays, the top match of the third men's team, which is second in the table, is against the unbeaten league leaders. We didn't give it our all as a team or individually. It was a bitter defeat. I couldn't achieve two victories through calmness, good tactics, concentration, or effort. I was left with the excellent feeling of winning the doubles with a clear 3:0.
Server Side Stories
The latest episode of my podcast was published this week. Maurice and I report on our Kirby development setup, why we think Kirby is a good choice, and why we chose it for customer projects. It's best to listen directly. Keep in mind that my podcast is in German.
