Developing a Plan

To make consistent progress in your development you need to develop a plan. Without a plan you risk wasting time, duplicating work or working towards the wrong goals. In this episode we discuss the importance and methodologies behind developing a plan. We talk about why having the skills to develop a plan can help you in every aspect of your development career. Breaking down plan into four phases. Teaching you how to D.R.O.P. a development plan. Finally we address what to do when it turns out your current plan is not working and how to get back on track. Importance of developing a plan Allows to be able to measure progress Allows for alignment on goals and success measurement Helps you prioritize and make the best use of your time When to develop a plan When writing code and building functionality When working with a team on a development project When working on development career goals How to develop a plan using D.R.O.P Define: Determine what the endpoint you are trying to reach Research: List the skills and tools you have and the ones you need to reach your endpoint Outline: Breakout the smallest actionable steps you can take to reach your endpoint Prioritize: Order your actionable steps into an order that allows you to build one on top of the other. What to do when a plan starts to fail Stop what you are doing, do not try to muscle through it. Ask questions, analyze and evaluate what is causing problems Develop a plan to resolve each problem. Listener Challenges Tell us about your methods for developing a plan. Share with us what tools and systems you use to implement your plans Previous episodes mentioned Establishing Office Connections To get more done as a developer you need a personal task management system. Why it is important that you maintain a healthy work/life balance. Leading by Example Using D.U.M.B goals and S.M.A.R.T goals to grow your development career.