Naresh Jain compared ‘Software development’ to ‘Trekking’.
6. No two software projects are same, as in the case of treks. Infact, keeping the team and project the same, the second time is always different from the first one. Same holds good for trekking.
7. Team work: It‘s about communication and coordination. One cannot miss a module and continue; similarly one cannot leave a member of the trekking group behind and continue the trek. Everyone on the trek needs to be on the same page.
8. Each team customizes the processes keeping the values or principles as the guiding lighting
12. One cannot rely 100% on measurements and matrices. A lot of things cannot be measured and few other measurements don‘t seem to make any sense at times. It is difficult to gauge where in a software development process you stand. Similarly one cannot be sure where they stand in terms of reaching the destination
14. Highly motivated and self disciplined people are the need of the hour
15. Team composition is the key to success. One needs a good mix of people with varying skill sets and experience levels.
16. There is some sense of satisfaction when one gets lost and gets back. There is a feeling of immense learning and exposure on getting lost.
17. You don‘t need to know everything that takes to finish the project or the trek right before you stat. A lot of things can be found-out/learnt on the way and a lot of things become self-explanatory once you get there. There is always someone who would be able to help if required.
18. You don‘t have a clear separation between planning, requirement gathering, designing, development, testing, etc stages. You are doing a mix of these all the time. Similarly, you don‘t have a clear separation between planning, climbing up, climbing down, eating, decision making, etc. You are doing a combination of them.
19. A lot of satisfaction is derived out of exploring the unknown as a team, rather than having a guide or mentor dragging you along.
