To make consistent progress in your development you need to develop a plan. Without a plan you risk wasting time, duplicating work or working towards the wrong goals. In this episode we discuss the importance and methodologies behind developing a plan. We talk about why having the skills to develop a plan can help you in every aspect of your development career. Breaking down plan into four phases. Teaching you how to D.R.O.P. a development plan. Finally we address what to do when it turns out your current plan is not working and how to get back on track.

Importance of developing a plan

• Allows to be able to measure progress
• Allows for alignment on goals and success measurement
• Helps you prioritize and make the best use of your time

When to develop a plan

• When writing code and building functionality
• When working with a team on a development project
• When working on development career goals

How to develop a plan using D.R.O.P

• Define: Determine what the endpoint you are trying to reach
• Research: List the skills and tools you have and the ones you need to reach your endpoint
• Outline: Breakout the smallest actionable steps you can take to reach your endpoint
• Prioritize: Order your actionable steps into an order that allows you to build one on top of the other.

What to do when a plan starts to fail

• Stop what you are doing, do not try to muscle through it.
• Ask questions, analyze and evaluate what is causing problems
• Develop a plan to resolve each problem.

Listener Challenges

• Tell us about your methods for developing a plan.
• Share with us what tools and systems you use to implement your plans

Previous episodes mentioned

• Establishing Office Connections
• To get more done as a developer you need a personal task management system.
• Why it is important that you maintain a healthy work/life balance.
• Leading by Example
• Using D.U.M.B goals and S.M.A.R.T goals to grow your development career.