Over the years that I've been writing Our Takes for the StickyLetter, I've receive many responses from readers such as yourself commenting on the stories and life lessons I've shared. I've saved every single response and would like to share a few with you in this issue. 

Response to "Timer Set, Go!", published January 16, 2008:
I just read your most recent article and enjoyed the analogy with cooking. We also have a timer in our kitchen that we use to keep us on track. At work we have test cycles that run for a set time; otherwise we would be tempted to keep testing indefinitely. Those cycles keep us on track with the big picture.

Mike Pullman

Response to "Natural Progression," published September 19, 2007:
"I have been wound to the breaking point recently with too many tasks with imminent deadlines. One of my tasks is the testing of a new software application, which my attendance at your STAREAST conference geared and charged me up for. But my time and attention has been continually pulled away by other 'pressing' work that my manager has assigned me to do.

I had gathered about 150 bugs that I published in a Problem Log a few weeks ago. Many of these the developers had resolved and wished to see 'closed' on the Problem Log, but making the time to test these fixes has been impossible. Yesterday one of the developers, perhaps a little bit frustrated but also very kindly, came in and sat down with me to walk through the bugs assigned to him. With him at my side, we were able to walk through and close most of his 'open' bugs. I couldn't thank him enough! Sometimes we just need a person like him at our side to make some progress and get us through the stress of the moment."

Jerry M. Esterheld

Response to "'Tis the Season of Giving and Receiving," published December 20, 2006:
"One Christmas when my daughter was about eight years old, she had saved up her allowance to get me a gift. She was a little short on money for it, and I had found her crying on her bed with all these quarters, dimes, and nickels all over. I asked her what was wrong and she said she didn't have enough money to buy a gift for someone she really wanted to get (I didn't know it was mine). I asked her how much more she needed and told her I would give her an advance on her allowance. She smiled, gave me a big hug, and went shopping with mom.
 
Christmas time came and I had totally forgotten about it until we started to open presents. Here I found a present from her to me. I looked at it and then at her and she had the biggest smile on her face. So I opened it carefully and found a bottle of aftershave. Now this is a nice gift, but, you see, I have a full beard and only trim the beard. I haven't used aftershave in years. I was kind of baffled on what I was going to do with it.
 
I said, 'Thank you honey, but where is daddy going to put it on?'
 
She then preceded to climb in my lap, took the bottle from my hands, opened it, and said, 'Right here, daddy.' With that she put some on her little hand and put some behind my ears and down the side of my neck. She said 'That way when you pick me up and carry me I can rest my head on your shoulder and smell my gift to you.'
 
With tears in my eyes, I gave her a great big hug and told her it was the best present I have ever gotten."
 
Chuck Pearson

These are just three of many wonderful responses I've received. I chose these three because the message contains a good lesson or it is simply a favorite of mine. I wish I could republish everyone's responses, but due to limited space, I'll just have to settle for publishing your special stories in a later issue. For all who've written me in the past, I want to thank you and let you know that I appreciate the effort and time you put into writing your letter.

It's so interesting to use this eNewsletter to share my stories and learn about your lives in return. I've learned so much about you and what matters most in your lives. This brings me to an interesting point ... even though I started this Our Take without a lesson, there is one to learn: Take some time to get to know your coworkers and other people in your life. I promise that you'll soon come across an interesting story or a connection you had no idea previously existed. Once you make that connection with someone, time spent with this person will have more meaning than before.

Until next time ... live well, learn more about each other, and build better software.

Francesca Matteu
fmatteu@sqe.com


For more articles on time and project management, software development, and testing, peruse the StickyLetter archive.

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