Discussion on: What's most likely to kill your motivation for the day/month/year?

[Anna Buianova]

Apart from physical issues like disease and sleep deprivation:

• Vague tasks. It's hard to work if you're not sure what the result should be.
• Being in doubt that the product itself will be useful (e.g. it's at odds with my values)
• Having to switch between multiple projects often.
• Always being in a hurry, not having time for refactoring.

[edA‑qa mort‑ora‑y]

I believe the last three are common, though some consultants seem to have no problem with doubtfully useful products.

I find the first point interesting though, in that I actually relish such situations. I enjoy finding workable solutions from vague requirements -- assuming the expectations are also flexible. Having requirements withheld, or understated, is not the same as just being vague.

I think "working with vagueness" should be something that all programmer's learn to deal with. It's more of a confidence issue than technical skill.

[Joan Morell]

And how do you do that? Because working with vagueness kills my mood and productivity

[Anna Buianova]

Yep, working with vague requirements and having flexible expectations is interesting. I meant those tasks the purpose of which is not clear and it's not even clear sometimes if the business needs them or not. Maybe I have chosen not the best words for my explanation, my English is not perfect :)

[edA‑qa mort‑ora‑y]

Yes, I guess there are certainly level of vagueness. When I encounter such things I just take it as an indication to fill in all the details on my own: figure out what would be good for the company or user.