IntroductionReality CheckA Developer’s LifeA Bad WeekSound Familiar?Creating a Pit of Success for DevelopersPositive/Can-Do Team AttitudeEnsuring Requirements and Acceptance Criteria Are UnderstoodWhat Is My Understanding of the Requirements? What Is the Primary Goal or Objective?What Are the Secondary Goals/Objectives?What Are the Known Design Constraints?What Are the Acceptance Criteria for the Solution (Including Nonfunctional)?What Assumptions Am I Making About These Requirements and the System?What Are the Unknowns? (i.e., What Information Is Not Currently Available?)What Are the Trade-Offs I Am Deliberately Making?What Areas/Features Are Most Likely to Change over Time?What Are Anticipated/Possible Failure Scenarios, and How Should They Be Handled?Are There Any Special Considerations Related to Security?What Are the Existing Areas Impacted?How Will the Design/Architecture Need to Change?How Can I Encapsulate Current and Future Change?How Should I Test and Validate the System?What Risks Am I Aware Of?What Concerns Do I Have?What Are the Specific Steps to Implementation, and What Is Their Level of Effort?UI Design Artifacts Before DevelopmentDesign IdentityStateless or State-Aware Service-Based SystemsReviewing and Verifying the DesignTestabilityDeciding What to Unit TestIsolating Developer EnvironmentsMaker ScheduleMentorHaving Meaningful Face-to-Face InteractionsEstablishing Clear Developer ExpectationsPit of Success ChecklistSummaryKey Takeaways
