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Hanging My Test Driven Christmas Lights – A Retrospective

OK, so by now, many have read my first missive regarding my annual sado-masochistic ritual of decorating the house for Christmas. I’ve just finished the whole embarrassing production once again. Time for a little retrospective:

So let’s start by reviewing our objective…

Goal: To win the Elf Award for the best Christmas lights in my subdivision so that I can revel in the glory and adulation of my neighbors and idle passers-by.

What Went Well:

  1. More lights than last year

  2. Key display items repaired (“Frosty is back!”)

  3. Ten Fingers, Ten Toes, Skull still intact, No broken bones

  4. No visits to the ER

  5. Fewer unexpected blowouts – improved quality

  6. Still married

What Could Change:

  1. Casualties: 3 fingernails & one stapled thumb

  2. Work more closely with the product owner

  3. Get approval for changes to the lighting scheme BEFORE implementing

All in all, this year’s lighting experience has been much better than last year’s. There are a few things that might explain this success beyond what I talked about last year. This time I did the work in much smaller chunks instead of trying to do everything in one day. This made the physical exertion seem much less.

I should have gotten approval from the product owner for smaller increments of the work. I had a few scares where my wife came outside, looked at the fruit of my labors, and said, “You’re NOT going to hang icicle lights on the tree are you?”

Of course not, Honey…

Of course the real approval for this release will come from the judging committee when they hand out the Elf Award. Maybe I should bake some cookies for the committee? Should I greet them at the door wearing a tie? Should I write an acceptance speech? Stay tuned.

#Retrospective #TDD

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