After he had been with the Temple for several weeks, the
new abbot Ruh Cheen called up young master Zjing on his
monitor.
“I’ve been studying all the finicky little details of how
software gets built here,” said Ruh Cheen. “Now, I don’t
want to ruffle any feathers, but I’ve come up with a simple
way to make things go much faster and smoother for
everyone.”
“That is... surprising,” said Zjing.
“Now the thing is,” said Ruh Cheen, “our developers produce
an awful lot of diagrams and documents and whatnot, which we
review at meeting after meeting, just to plan what we’re
going to build. But this Agile Manifesto says that those
things are nowhere near as important as having a product you
can poke at. So from now on I want us to do a lot less
planning, and plan on a lot more doing. Wireframes?
Wastebasket! Designs? Don’t bother! Sign-offs? Sayonara!”
“Interesting,” began Zjing. “But—”
“Now now...” said Ruh Cheen, “I know that change is scary,
but I’ve already pitched the idea to the developers and they
were downright optimistic.”
Feeling the panic rise in her chest, Zjing made a quick
excuse and ended the call. When her breathing returned to
normal, she called master Banzen.
As she spoke, Zjing fidgeted with a cut bundle of knotted
rope that she kept on her desk. “If I cling to my pessimism,
it is only because it has been so dearly bought.”
“As a perfectionist, I sympathize,” said the old master.
“For perfectionism and pessimism are twin blossoms, both
rooted in the fear of failure. But even I must concede that
when an optimist and a pessimist set out to sea, it is the
optimist who sails toward the unknown with dreams of
discovery, while the pessimist seeks only a safe harbor.”
“Yet what is the pessimist to do when the shoreline is
receding from view?” asked Zjing.
“A true pessimist calls upon one of like mind before setting
foot in the craft,” said Banzen. “Whereupon her friend would
advise her to bring extra rations, life preservers, and a
flare gun.”
