The Perilous Pitfalls of Expectation Management

Sometimes, you can do everything exactly the way you planned and the way you promised, and still find yourself wondering how on earth you managed to fail. Such is life in the world of software development, where you can succeed in everything and still fall short of expectations.

We had a demonstration today for a preliminary (alpha) capability that was not intended to be flashy, but rather a functional presentation of a live system - not canned, phony or mocked up. We articulated 6 weeks ago what we would be able to deliver, and those objectives were accepted by the client. Our developers worked hard to meet these objectives, and met them well. For where we are in the development lifecycle, we are on track, on schedule, and under budget.

But perilous are the pitfalls of expectation management. For despite delivering exactly what we said we would, and what was agreed to, the client was severely dissatisfied with the product. Apparently, they were hoping for something more canned and more conceptual, even if less functional. Somehow, we failed to properly set and manage expectations.

Today, we'll live with the disappointment. Tomorrow, we'll put it aside and get back to work. Our plan and our approach are sound. Nevertheless, I'll have to take into account the need to repair the perception that was laid bare today.

My job is to ensure that our product meets requirements and delivers a needed capability. My job is also to make sure that the client is fully satisfied with the result. I'm not used to this kind of failure, and it doesn't sit well despite knowing I couldn't have done anything more to prevent it.

My approach to managing expectations usually equates to this: say what you are going to do, do it, and do it well. Do this, and the result should be positive. Apparently today, that approach was insufficient.

Ah well. Best thing to do is to go home, kiss my wife and hug my kids, and leave the disappointment at the office. We'll get back to work tomorrow.

Overcoming Inertia, or Carving Out Room for Reflection

One of the drawbacks to taking even an abbreviated respite from writing is having to overcome the resulting inertia. I find myself sitting at the computer, fingertips poised above the keys, eyes staring off into space all the while wondering what to write. There is nothing wrong with taking a break, of course, nor is there any rule that says I must write and post at any particular frequency. But I've enjoyed the last two years of blogging, and would like to continue.

It would be easy, in a way, to simply comment on the news of the day or to expound upon meanings and mysteries for which I still seek wisdom and understanding. Indeed, when I find myself searching for a topic, I will often hit the internet, looking for something that catches my eye. Lately, there hasn't been much that offers fresh soil for cultivation. Besides, I'm in a mode where what stimulates me is not the bounty of information available at the click of a mouse, but rather the simplicity of a quiet moment - unplugged, but not necessarily unconnected.

I know I touch on such themes from time to time. I read an article a while back commenting on the impact of information overload on our ability to think (emphasis mine):

While the Internet has enormous benefits in delivering incredible amounts of information at incredible speed, it's also a distracting and interruption-rich environment.

Carr said it encourages quick shifts in focus -- and discourages sustained attention and the ability to think deeply and creatively about one topic and to challenge conventional wisdom.

Popularity-driven search engines, in one of the ironies of an information-rich Internet, worsen the problem by leading everyone to the same sources, he said.

Social networks, while pleasurable and fun, increase distractedness by bombarding users with brief bits of information.

"We take in so much information so quickly that we are in a constant state of cognitive overload," Carr argued.

"Multitasking erodes cognitive control. We lose our ability to say that this is important, this is unimportant. All we want is new information."

In contrast, when readers open a printed book, "there's nothing else going on except words on a page, no distractions. It helps train us to be deep thinkers."

The older I get, the more aware I become of just how limited our time and our resources truly are. I'm finding that I'm seeking more than basic awareness, however. I do not merely want to know about things; I want to understand, and I want to deepen that understanding. I seek formation - not merely information. I also seek revelation, that flash of insight that illuminates the puzzle pieces of our experience and begets the transformation of our inner being. Is that too transcendental? Too metaphysical? Perhaps so, but I believe the point I'm trying to make is that the pursuit of wisdom is lifelong, and worthy of effort.

The irony, of course, is that the formation I pursue leads to a place that is already known. At least in part. To know fully, the journey must continue. The summit of wisdom is bound to reveal the splendor that is the simplicity of being, the simplicity of our being.

Perhaps the writer of Ecclesiastes was right when he lamented "Everything is meaningless, a chasing after the wind." He spoke this with regard to many endeavors, including the pursuit of wisdom. But he also suggests that even if it is meaningless, the pursuit is better than the alternative. As songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman once penned, "there is more to this life than living and dying, more than just trying to make it through the day."

A key for me is to be intentional about carving out time and space for formative reflection, which itself requires a change in inertia. Indeed, what value is it to be always in motion, but never moving? Always consuming, but never growing?

40

Well, it's here. 40. With apologies to Jim Davis, the following just about sums it up:


Although, after further consideration, given this year's medical adventure and the tornado outbreak, among other potential calamities, being 40 today is not so bad. I think I could almost even be happy about it. Almost.

Happy birthday to me. I'll try not to let it ruin my day. :-)

Getting Away

I know my blogging has been light of late, but unfortunately that may be a trend that continues for the next few weeks. I will however, try to show some signs of life as the opportunity presents itself.

I'm getting away this weekend, away from the pressing pace of proposals and progress that frequently threaten to overwhelm me. Although it won't be the solitude I need, the weekend trek to a Boy Scout canoe base camp in the company of my son's troop will serve as a sufficient respite from office politics and personalities. Summer camping by the river will be hot, muggy and buggy I'm sure. But the mental image of being on the water, hearing its gentle slap against the side of the craft … man, I need that. I grew up taking annual vacations to the lake. Those years, those memories are so long ago.

I remember the first time I got in a canoe without an adult. I'm not sure exactly how old I was, but I remember it well. I was paddling from the fore, with my cousin manning the aft. Somewhere between the dock and the small island several hundred yards out from shore, I noticed it was getting much harder to move the craft. At that moment, my cousin announced, "I have the paddle in the perfect steering position." At which point I uttered some teenage expletive about him needing to paddle the boat. Still, the thrill and the peace of being out on the water - I cannot begin to tell you how much I miss that, how much I need that.

It'll be back to the grind on Monday. But between now and then, perhaps there will be a slice of heaven.

Spirit Stays Silent

The last few weeks have been insanely busy, and therefore finding time and energy to sit down and write has been rather difficult. Between pressing proposals, the kickoff of a major project (with another on the way), all the while working feverishly at home to finish my bonus room before carpet shows up tomorrow, I'm just plain wiped out. I have competing dreams at night; I'm either lost in a maze of proposal paperwork and project requirements, or I'm painting painting painting. In real life, I'm down to the second coat on a couple of doors, and polyurethane on one handrail. The only thing about finishing a room yourself, when you have a personality like mine, is that you know exactly where all the mistakes are, and where all the flaws that others might miss lurk silently, taunting. Others might not see them, but because I made them, I know there are there and that they are out to get me. It makes it tough to enjoy the fruit of a job pretty well done.

So what's happened lately? Well, the Bulls blew it. As good as they may have been in the regular season, when the game is on the line in the playoffs, they clearly lack a "closer," someone who knows how to withstand the rallies, keep the team focused, and deny the opposition the comeback. LeBron is that type of player, despite his lack of previous playoff success. The Bulls need that one component that never gets the deer-in-the-headlights look.

I guess the other thing that caught my interest was the announcement that NASA is giving up on the Mars Rover known as Spirit. I wrote about Spirit here. Designed for a 3-month mission, Spirit lasted more than 6 years before going silent for the past year. With such a record of overachievement, it's easy to humanize the rovers, especially when they serve as a window to a frontier we cannot yet see with our own eyes or touch with our own feet. It's a sad ending:

Shortly after midnight, NASA sent one last plea to the silent rover Spirit, mired in a sand trap on the surface of Mars.

Please phone home.

With that, the space agency ended its efforts Wednesday to contact the workhorse robot geologist, which has been unresponsive for more than a year. Rather than spend time and money hanging onto faint hope, mission managers decided to turn their focus on Spirit's healthy twin Opportunity and prepare for the upcoming launch of the next Mars mega-rover.

The pursuit of knowledge will go forward, and Opportunity continues to roll. Well done, Spirit, and thanks.