When estimating and planning with a team, one kind of question that keeps coming up is “what if”. What if a server isn’t ready, what if another team hasn’t delivered a library, what if Harry isn’t around that day, what if there’s no coffee. In some cases of course, these represent real project risks, and you need to record, track and account for them, but in many cases they can reflect a more general sense of worry - worry that we don’t quite understand what will happen, worry that something unexpected (but I don’t know what) will derail our work.

It’s great to be able to kill these little worries. I’ve found something that helps is asking about whether, if the bad thing happens, we’re confident our ability to deal with it at the time. This is, of course, proposing a real option, but doing it in a way which hits on a team or individual’s ability to deal with a situation as it arises. Put this way, I’ve found most people able to put the worry in perspective, and it evaporates.

As Bobby McFerrin says, Don’t Worry, Be Happy.