The anarchistic, activist developer
The anarchistic, activist developer - Midjourney

The anarchistic, activist developer

DISCLAIMER: This article is written with the help of ChatGPT.

I like to see myself as a pragmatic software developer. Therefore I believe that generating ideas is key to success when building products, but picking the right ones is even more crucial. That's why I want to advocate for a new way of thinking: the anarchistic, activist developer.

By anarchistic, I mean supporting autonomous teams that operate fully by themselves. This requires breaking down the traditional silos that divide departments, but also hinder idea generation. When developers, designers, marketers, salespeople, and product developers work together more closely (like: directly), cross-pollination of ideas can flourish, resulting in better solutions. Hierarchical structures often stifle creativity and prevent everyone's opinions from being valued equally. By removing formal barriers, ideas can be evaluated objectively and efficiently. However, we also need to balance creativity with predictability. Anarchy doesn't always mean utter chaos. That's why I suggest introducing a way to improve predictability, such as GIST, to keep everyone on track without hindering creativity. 

This approach aligns with the agile development methodology, such as Lean Startup and Lean Analytics. As developers, we are well-positioned to promote this way of thinking across other departments and become activist developers

Let's break down the barriers and create a better, more collaborative work environment for everyone involved in product development. Try to push these agile principles from the bottom-up, and be an anarchistic activist developer yourself!

#AgileDevelopment #ProductIdeation #AnarchisticActivistDeveloper #CrossPollination #Creativity #Innovation #Predictability #GISTFramework #LeanStartup #LeanAnalytics #BreakingBarriers #BetterWorkEnvironment

Stephan Meijer

DevOps & Software Engineer

2y

Sorry, a what?

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