Software Best Practices

As I was reading this article in the New York Times I couldn't help but feel that this research applies directly to decision making in software development. It proposes that we are hardwired to make sub-optimal decisions in order to keep lots of options open. That is true even when there is a real cost to doing so - and the options we keep open have no true value. I am sure that I have made this mistake when managing projects. This is a good reminder that while we rely on our instincts, they can't all be trusted.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/26/science/26tier.html 

Jerry 

Hi Jerry,

Interesting. Very similar to Barry Schwartz's "Paradox of Choice" findings. In that book, Schwartz calls most of us "maximizers". That is, we are trained to try to get the maximum out of any choice. Keeping the doors open would be a way of trying to maximize, even when that isn't really what is happening.

There is the old saying that it is better to make a decision and move on (even if it is wrong) than to spend too much time debating. The NYT article talks about the doors closing as an emotional need rather than a logical one. Can it be that we are more interested in covering ourselves emotionally (don't make the wrong decision, don't let the door close) than we are in making progress?

Mmmm - fascinating research. The whole area of how we make decisions and how you can make the right choices more often fascinates me.

What I found particularly interesting about this experiment is that it implies we naturally prefer to be indecisive. Unfortunately it seems mostly true that indecision is often far worse than making a decision (even if it's wrong). I wrote more about this in my posts A Bad Strategy is Better Than None and Who Needs Final Decisions Anyway?