Iterative cooking and cleaning!

Today (Jan 30, 2020) at the office our facilities folks were installing/affixing whiteboards on the wall. We started talking and the discussion led to cooking and cleaning around the house. Go figure!

We talked about how our work habits were varied for different people. As the discussion wore on, Brad recalled how he works around the kitchen and how that was different from how his wife works. What he described led me to think of Agile and Waterfall. It lit a light bulb in my head and I had not thought about this earlier to this extent. You’ll see what I mean.

Brad and his wife work differently. When Brad prepares food, he makes the effort to keep the area clean and puts away the bowls, knives and what not away. And he washes these as he is cooking. In the end, there is less mess and less to do. He is able to maintain the balance between cooking and cleaning.

In contrast, according to him, his wife goes all out while cooking. She uses perhaps multiple knives and makes a “mess.” (I am sure he meant it in a good way!) All the utensils used while preparing food and cooking are left to be washed until the end, which obviously is left for Brad to do because when she cooks, he washes. In this case preparation, cooking and cleaning are all major and distinct events that follow one after the other.

While listening, I asked Brad whether he had heard the terms Agile and Waterfall? Since he’s surrounded by techies, he might have. This is when realized how they both work differently to achieve the same results.

His approach to cooking mimics Agile methodology while his wife’s approach follows the Waterfall. This is fascinating.