Time saving tube fail

Nowadays, most tools we use exists to save time. In London to travel through public transports we have tons of options to make our lives easier. Contactless debit card, ticket, Oyster card, you name it. However, having the choice between these options may reveal troublesome when in a rush. Indeed, on Monday I used my debit card by accident instead of my Oyster card making myself pay for a right I already have. Also, if I did not use it again while leaving the tube I would have ended up getting charged the max amount. I think it is £6.60 instead of £2.40 for a journey in zone 1. Luckily, I realised my mistake on the spot allowing me to rectify it while leaving at my station.

I did that mistake because I saw the elevator open and jumped in. Yes I got in the elevator, but instead of losing a couple minutes I lost money. Indeed the amount is as insignificant as the time saved, however that got me thinking. I started thinking about these times where I made design or coding decisions to save time. The classic “let’s do something quick” that is basically the coder’s “spray and pray”.

Spray and pray then spray to slay

In Monday’s instance, the “spray and pray” was to tap my wallet on whichever side is more accessible. I knew odds to mistakenly use my debit card was 50/50 and I knew how to limit the loss in case of failure. When the failure happened, I paid a price I was ready for when the time came. Similarly to a project however, you need to reduce the risks of your decisions as much as possible or at least figure a way to turn things around if they go south. Failing to recognise the risks of the choices we make will be as punishing as the risks taken allow.

This might be the key here. Maybe, it’s not about missing a shot, but about the rebound. About what you will do when the ball bounces back. If you know how to bounce back from a mistake you will feel empowered to do more and learn from them. Maybe in the end being a good developer is not necessarily about making the right choice every time. It can be about evaluating the potential consequences of our choices and ensure that they are worth taking. Also it can be about whether we can adapt off the result of our choices.

So next time I take the tube, I will slow down to tap my Oyster instead of my debit card. Coding wise, I could run into the most MacGuffinest MacGuffin piece of software that might help on a project and still take time to evaluate its pros and cons so that I can mitigate the risks of using it.