UnproductiveDistractions

The workers will be distracted from their work by interruptions that do not pay back in better productivity

Description

The workers will be distracted from their work by interruptions that do not pay back in better productivity. Some distractions are productive or necessary, some are disruptive without commensurate benefit.

Discussion

The topic of ProductiveDistractions is covered elsewhere. Here we deal with distractions that would be disruptive and without commensurate benefit. Specific causes of distractions are also covered in the topics of InappropriateOrganization and InappropriateTasks.

Prevention, Amelioration, Cure

Traditional

Shield the development personnel from unproductive distractions from external sources as described in FireWalls. Of the variants that are possible, a GateKeeper is particularly useful in filtering input and output. We do not consider training to be unproductive, nor documentation if it is tailored to its purpose. However, these are distractions that the developer may consider unproductive. These and similar distractions are addressed as InappropriateTasks.

Modern

Modern Agile approaches tend to regard close interaction with external project stakeholders as desirable, and may find they want to encourage direct interaction rather than divert it. In general, there is a close focus on the goal of delivering working software, and unproductive distractions tend to be given little opportunity. Techniques concentrate on directing the focus toward productive ends. One particular technique noteworthy in this respect is the facilitated workshop, of which a JAD session is a common example.