A few years ago I realized that I have an informal list of jokes, parables, and videos that I use in everyday conversation on projects to make a point. Sometimes they make people laugh, sometimes they present a teachable moment. I’ll give you an example:
A man was walking on the Carolina sea shore when he found what looked like a lamp. Figuring why not, he rubbed the lamp and a Genie came out. The Genie said “thank you for saving me from a thousand years of solitude. In return I can grant you one wish.” The man expressed surprise; wasn’t he supposed to get three wishes? The Genie replied “You watch too many Disney movies.” The man was surprised the Genie knew about Disney, but the Genie explained “We’re not savages; we have streaming services.” Finally the man asked for world peace. The genie sighed, and said his powers had some limits; some of the battles over land, water, and religion had lasted thousands of years, some impacted billions of people. Couldn’t he ask for something small and specific? The man said all right, he had an idea. You see he was a software lead on a project that was supposed to take nine months; it had already been twelve and there was no end in sight.
The Genie scratched his chin, thought for a moment and said “Well, I guess I can give world peace a try.”
Sometimes, people need to wake up to the reality that is the end of an illusion. Stories like this can help.
Here’s another, a video I send people when they are struggling with something I have struggled with too.
And, of course, for Software Testing, there is the classic awareness test.
The awareness test explains the risks of following any step-step-step-inspect method compared to exploring with both eyes open.
Those are a couple of the ones that come top of mind; I’m sure I could think of more.
What am I missing? What are your favorites?