Getting to Git is not just a tech change. It is a mindset change.

Baljeet Dogra — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 18:08:23 +0000

Thursday afternoon. Everyone is focussed on getting the deliverables packaged. The team is having a checkpoint to call to ensure if everything is still on track. And I decide to join the call.

The team was not expecting me on the call as it was a regular checkpoint meet, but seeing me on the call, they already start to anticipate a twist.

A moment of silence which is then broken by my "Oh! it's very quiet in here" followed by "I have an ask if you think it makes sense". I decided to change the requirement slightly but that had an impact on the code already written. So I asked them to experiment and see if the change is feasible.

The developer on the job copied the code and took a backup of the file before starting to make any changes. That immediately prompted my question "Why did you do that?".

Me: "Why did you take a backup of the file?"
Dev: "Just in case if it does not work then I have a backup"
Me: "But we are using Git..right?"
Dev: "Yes but for additional safety"
Me: "So you do not trust Git"
Dev: "It's not that. It is better to take the backup"

The tools are no good if the users of the tools still opt for traditional (if not barbarian) ways.

Git has revert functionality and you can revert back to any commit but if you do not trust Git then you will still rely on methods that are slow, error-prone and not efficient.

We then had a training session with the entire team on Git and how we can up our game by using the tools effectively than just treating Git as a store.

DEV Community: Baljeet Dogra

Getting to Git is not just a tech change. It is a mindset change.