January, 2006:

Bill Caputo (hi Bil!) has been readiing Jared Diamond’s Collapse. It’s possibly one of the most depressing books I’ve read. Bill writes about how societies cling to established practices, even when they’re disastrous in the current situation.

There is another lesson from the book. There are a couple of examples where societies, for whatever motivation, have managed to sustain the resources on which they depend. One is Iceland and its fishing grounds, another is Japan since the Shogunate and its forests. According to Diamond, Iceland maintains very strict control over catches, even sending inspectors out on the boats. If there’s any sign of stress in the stock, the relevant area is closed immediately. This seems to work despite huge temptations for trawler skippers to cheat.

Both cases share some characteristics: ownership aligned with exploitation (in the best sense) and a long-term view. Are these also essential for an Agile project (well, any project really)? The One Team practice says that all the right people have a stake in the success of a project. The organisation must do its best to reduce any motivation for people to game the results and concentrate on finger pointing instead. Similarly, an absolute commitment to quality means that everyone realises that the system has a life beyond its initial sign-off. Someone has to support this stuff, and it might be us.