If we ask a group of four software engineers what changes are needed in our system to improve its quality, we will get at least twenty ideas. When the RFCs are used to get support for any idea, it’s a complete failure. This was one of the reasons why we failed. We introduced the system to promote ideas and get feedback on them. Even though our intention was to improve the feedback culture, engineers who tried persuading others felt lost on how to gain support for an idea and turn it into implementation.
If there is no business need for an idea, there shouldn’t be an RFC. When I say business, I count both product features and technical problems and features that have to be implemented. When the RFC is written, there has to be direct support from all directions in the business. If every idea is written as an RFC to collect feedback, the whole process is doomed to fail.
- Related Note(s):
- Resourced: How and Why RFCs Fail;
