Standards Watchdog - Do you provide the reason behind rules when enforcing them?

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<introEmbed body={<> Learning lessons the hard way is a fact of life, but one of the great things about teamwork is that you can help others avoid making the same mistakes over and over again. This is the foundation of great standards! But what happens when a new (or old) team member misses a standard? </>} />
"The floggings will continue until morale improves"- A bad manager

Everyone makes mistakes. If you run around wielding your authority as a cudgel, telling them they'd better comply or else, two things will happen:

  1. They will resent you
  2. They will only bother following standards when you're around

For example, if one of your standards is for developers to send "test please" emails, there's likely a hard-earned lesson behind it - otherwise, that rule wouldn’t exist. Instead of simply enforcing the rule, take a couple of minutes to explain why it matters and the value it brings.

From:
Adam
To:
Mark
Subject:
No test please email

Hi Mark

You didn't send a "test please" email. Please do that next time.

❌ Figure: Bad example - This email doesn't explain why this is so important

From:
Adam
To:
Mark
Subject:
Test Please emails standard

Hi Mark

Regarding that PBI you worked on yesterday.

We have a standard about sending "test please" emails to the client (check out the rule).

This saves time by getting early feedback, allowing bugs to be fixed while it's still fresh in the developer's mind.
The longer the feedback loop takes, the more expensive a PBI becomes to the client.

Please make sure this is part of your workflow ;)

✅ Figure: Good example - Provide a link to your standard and the main reason(s) why it is important

Categories

Rules to Better Software Consultants - Working in a Team

Acknowledgements

Adam Cogan
Luke Cook
Related rules

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