Comments on: The Toilet Paper Theory Applied To Software Development

By: Fundsachen – Anregungen und Anstöße aus dem Netz ... auf Karriere-Bibel

Fundsachen – Anregungen und Anstöße aus dem Netz ... auf Karriere-Bibel — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 20:09:52 +0000

[...] etwas älter und über das Bewerberblog gefunden: Die Toilettenpapier-Theorie. Sie sagt im Grunde: Über die Unternehmenskultur können die Chefs viel erzählen. [...]

By: Employer Branding aufm Lokus : Bewerberblog.de

Employer Branding aufm Lokus : Bewerberblog.de — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 08:28:14 +0000

[...] drüber nach, ist da vielleicht wirklich was dran. Die ganze Erklärung mit Beispielen findet ihr hier, das ist dort derart gut und witzig gemacht, dass ich einen Teufel tun werde zu versuchen das zu [...]

By: The Editor

The Editor — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 07:38:40 +0000

The hygiene thing is a good remark that I haven’t consider. But I think that if you were coherent with your logic and do not want to use your hands “post-transaction” and “before washing them”, then you must be very “agile” to perform all the activities that you should do in this period (flush water, unlock and open the door) without influencing the next user.

Furthermore, you could expect that somebody using the next roll installed by yourself will be in the same situation that you are before changing it… and that he will also clean his hands afterwards. Therefore, I do not think that the roll manipulation adds a lot of hygienic problems.

By: Peter

Peter — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 23:24:10 +0000

I don’t think you have thought deeply enough about the toilet paper analogy when it comes to individual responsibility.

For me to install a new clean roll at the end of my ‘visit’ means that I need to man-handle that perfectly clean roll with my grubby, ‘post-transaction’ hands, potentially affecting negatively every following user of that roll (not just the next).

Personally, I think I care MORE because I leave that clean roll un-touched by my hands.

… Who would be silly enough to sit down to do their business without checking the roll anyway… Or am I just exceptional at planning? ;-p

And really – It doesn’t matter whether user A or user B does it – As long as we are consistent, we all do the same amount of work on average.
In fact, I vote user B changing the roll is more logical – fiddling with the roll whilst the ‘back-end’ is busy is a multi-tasking win not available to user A.

You may think I am jesting, but I am fairly serious. Societies expectation that it is the responsibility of user A to do this work is a mis-analysis of the available efficiencies of the situation.
OK, it might be seen as polite (illogically when you consider my hygiene angle), but don’t fool yourself that it is efficient or hygienic.

The same problem happens in Software Engineering – People identify a ‘benefit’ and say ‘lets do it’, ignoring the the cost and the alternatives.
It flabbergasts me how rarely work is prioritised on cost:benefit. Everyone ‘talks the talk’, but very, very often priority is heavily skewed to ignore cost (except for extreme cases), and prioritise mainly on benefit. You very rarely see 5 small, cheap changes win over the one ‘big-bang’ change, when often the 5 give you better bang-for-buck. The one ‘big-bang’ change stands out too much and people make emotive decisions.

But ignoring all that, yes, I get the analogy, slightly flawed as it is, and agree with intention of your analogy, if not the toilet etiquette…