WIP

Work in Progress

Any updates on the task? People are often asked whenever there is an outstanding issue which requires troubleshooting and it’s scope is not well defined. I am talking specifically about the type of tasks that require investigation and nobody has experience on having worked with something similar before, things that have to be done but there is not a clear way or path to follow since information is lacking or nobody has the required know-how. Have you ever come across this type of question? If you do, most of the times the answer is ‘No, I haven’t made any significant progress’. But this may be just our feelings or mind confusing us.

WIP: abbreviation that stands for Work in Progress. MacMillan dictionary defines it as: a piece of writing, music, etc. that someone is working on.

Many times, we tend to think that making progress on a piece of work is only solving the problem or actually getting some or all of the work done. Progress relates directly to the amount of time spent / the total task progression we think we’ve done and the time remaining to conclude it. But is this really true? Isn’t our mind playing a trick on us? Why don’t we just turn the answer around and just say: “I’ve tried with several potential solutions but haven’t come across the correct one yet”.

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
― Thomas A. Edison

This quote above is an example of what I am trying to explain. Before inventing the light bulb, Thomas Edison discarded many possible alternatives which did not work. Most of the times making progress is discarding possible solutions. You should trust the process, and take a look at the big picture whenever you feel stuck. Changing your point of view also helps. At the end, all of the things done which you though as non-progress converge and somehow you get to the correct solution/expected outcome.

Having read a couple of neuroscience books, I was once introduced to the cognitive bias concept. Below, we are going to explore scenarios where we tend to think that we are not making progress at all, but it’s all a matter of perspective.

Let’s dive in. ⤵️

🧠 Cognitive Biases

Cognitive bias is an umbrella term that refers to the systematic ways in which the context and framing of information influence individuals’ judgment and decision-making. There are many kinds of cognitive biases that influence individuals differently, but their common characteristic is that — in step with human individuality — they lead to judgment and decision-making that deviates from rational objectivity.- by Interaction Design Foundation.

Having had the opportunity to work on several projects, I’ve been able to detect and name a couple of new cognitive bias that, to me, are the most common ones:

⌛ Non-Progress/Time Bias

At the time someone tries to know if you are making progress and you are not ready to give an answer, your mind tends to think that you haven’t made any significant progression. Often, you tell yourself that you’ve wasted your time and energies on something that is taking more time than expected while leaving other important things aside. But the truth is that all of that is also part of the work, it’s something that is necessary.

To cope with this, you need to change your mindset. While going through this kind of situation, it’s important to know where you are at and what’s expected from you. One think that really helps is asking expected time of delivery, dates and possible flexibility while taking into account the priority of the task over the other things to be done. Communication is the key. Letting know where you are versus the expected thing to happen really helps you and others be on the same page.

Making progress is often proving wrong possible solutions to a problem, which often leads you to the correct path.

🧑🏽‍💻Information sources bias

Often, our work depends on gathering information or getting insights from other people. Perhaps, you’ve spent hours of investigation or processing knowledge from several sources. We also need from other’s to process the information, guide us with external or context information and give us whatever they think it’s relevant for us to move on with our work. It’s important to detect when we need to ask for context and further information on something we are working on. This is also part of the work, which takes communication time till we are supplied with the important stuff. Providing others with valuable information is also the key, to let them know what is happening. Focusing on the important things usually turns out to be the best approach, not over communicating and just giving poor data.

This exchange of information can take days (specially if you depend on other teams working on adding/modifying/fixing something your work depends on) and in the meantime you may feel that you can’t make progress. Because you know that, without the required information or context, you are not able to move on. It’s extremely important here again to constantly communicate. Everyone needs to know that without that context, you are not able to succeed. Sometimes, when you mention the situation you are going through, it can be taken as a light or minor thing. You are in charge of letting know the importance of the task to move on.

Making progress sometimes depends on other’s work which you are not in control of but you can push to give the situation the importance it deserves. Clear communication is the key.

To sum up, progress is a mixture of what you can do to advance without getting into your on way+ what you can do to help others help you. Often, WIP is just you helping others to help you.