13 Comments
User's avatar
Fabrice Bernhard's avatar

It seems close to a Thinkie I use: "if you put a gun to my head, then I would choose option B. But I would rather have information X, Y, Z before deciding."

Kent Beck's avatar

This is like that, but without the gun.🤪

Doug Swartz's avatar

While not really a Thinkie, this reminds me of a powerful decision making technique called "flipit".

When a discussion is going on too long (whatever too long is), and it appears there are two pretty much equal choices which would both work, call out "Flipit". The coin of destiny is tossed by a person advocating one decision, with heads or tails called by the a person advocating the other. The chosen decision is marked and we go on with our day.

This technique is surprisingly useful once the team the team norms include agreeing to abide by the flip.

A variation on this technique uses rock-paper-scissors.

Boris's avatar

Or you give worst possible solution and then all the sudden everybody have better proposal :)

Boris's avatar

This is strategy of my best friend when we can't decide where to go for beer

Anan's avatar

Operating in comfort zone, say technical debt won't be part of this pattern isn't it? Because people dont consider there's a "decision that need to be made"

Kent Beck's avatar

You seem to be asking if this Thinkie could be applied to reducing technical debt. I don’t see how but perhaps the community has ideas.

Anan's avatar

I'm trying to find matching situations in my experience that I can use to explain this pattern.

Premises are:

1. There need to be a basic force to bring a change

2. Multiple equal alternatives

3. Not moving forward

So transformation is to force pick one.

In my reasoning, technical debt scenarios first premise won't fulfill. In case forced by compliance then they jump directly to implement something with much evaluation.

Anan's avatar

Then one day they have to do because they need to comply. Now situation changed to this pattern 🤔

Anan's avatar

Interesting at this situation there won't be indecision. People do what ever needs to mark it done ✔️.

There no decision making process involved.

Gabor Csepregi's avatar

I'm looking forward the other two Thinkie. I've been constantly facing this indecisiveness issue, but this one does not solve those problems. I came up with my own, but would like to see yours first. :)

Kent Beck's avatar

Thinkies are not there to solve problems, they are there to generate ideas. If the idea generated by this Thinkie doesn't work this time, that's the normal state of affairs. Also, it's why you have a portfolio of Thinkies.

I like your "McDonald's" technique. I have that Thinkie too. I'll add it to the list.

Gabor Csepregi's avatar

I see, I slightly misunderstood the Thinkie concept.

I didn't realise I have a "McDonald's" technique. Can't wait to read about that, so that I can understand myself better.

Edit: I've just looked it up, and not sure I've found what you meant by that 😄