A Lesson from My Balcony Door

Last week I oiled the door hinges of my balcony door. They’ve been stiff and squeaky for the whole two years that I’ve lived there, but I haven’t really paid that much attention to them. Yes I was a bit annoyed whenever I used the door, but it’s not the sort of thing that you lose sleep over. Until one day, the door stubbornly refused to close, forcing me to confront the issue head-on.

Enter problem solving mode. As I stood there, grappling with a door that had suddenly become my nemesis, my mind went through a few different options (like replacing the door or calling my dad) before settling on oil. And lo and behold, a few drops and the transformation was astounding. No more stiffness, no more squeaking, and who knew that my door could open up that wide! The lack of the earlier annoyance which was arguably small but bothersome all the same, suddenly also opened up my eyes to the stress and frustration it had caused me for years, and it got me wondering: why hadn’t I just oiled them earlier?

The Breaking Point

Simply put, I hadn’t yet reached my breaking point. Maybe you’ve heard of creeping normality or the boiling frog syndrome, phenomena widely known in psychology. In short, they describe how unwanted changes become normalized when they occur gradually, and how people ignore these small problems until they grow to be so big that they can’t be ignored anymore. Life is filled with examples of this, whether it’s ignoring a nagging ache until it becomes unbearable or procrastinating on mundane tasks until they snowball into crises, we’re all guilty of succumbing to the creeping normality.

All of this is of course extremely natural. We ignore, avoid and push things out of our minds because we’re tired, we don’t have time and/or money or maybe we tell ourselves that it’s not that important. All the while, under the surface, it’s causing stress which slowly accumulates until we reach a tipping point. My trigger, my breaking point where I could no longer ignore the problem, was my door not closing – the growing stiffness of the door was frustrating but it wasn’t until my door lost the ability to door, that I was spurred into action. But had I not waited till that moment, had I taken action earlier, I could have saved myself from a lot of frustration. 

Applying Lessons to Software Modernization

The same principle applies to the software systems that companies rely on. Think about the numerous small glitches and inefficiencies that your team encounters on a daily basis. Maybe your software takes a few extra seconds to load or there’s an occasional error that requires a quick restart. These issues are annoying, but they don’t seem significant enough to trigger immediate action. Over time, however, these small problems and frustrations accumulate, chipping away at productivity and morale.

Imagine a software your company is using – is there a competition management system you rely on? Or perhaps a safety management system is at the heart of your operations? Picture that software and your team dealing with a cumbersome interface and slow response times, maybe for years. On an individual level these issues might seem small and insignificant, but collectively, they slow down operations, frustrate employees, and potentially lead to poorer customer service. Yet, because these problems don’t completely halt operations, they often go unaddressed.

The Compounding Costs of Ignoring Small Problems

Unfortunately fixing software isn’t as simple as putting oil on hinges – waiting until your software hits a breaking point before taking action can be costly. By the time the issues are severe enough to demand attention, the solution is often far more complex and expensive. Think about how annoying and expensive it would be to buy and install a new door vs. oiling some hinges. And it’s not only the more expensive repair costs that companies are in danger of, for instance, a critical system crash or a major security breach caused by outdated software can result in significant downtime, lost revenue, and damage to the company’s reputation.

While ignoring the small issues is natural to us, we can actually choose action at any point. By making proactive modernization a habit, we can steer clear of those critical breaking points, saving us and our team from a world of headaches. Regularly updating and fine-tuning your software to prevent minor issues from snowballing not only improves efficiency but also enhances the user experience. Think smoother performance, reduced errors and agile scalability. Keeping your code up to date also means improved security against cyber attacks, something we all know to be of utmost importance. I didn’t want to leave my door open for unwanted guests and I’m sure you don’t want that either. 

Conclusion

My balcony door saga served as a wake-up call: it opened my eyes to the dangers of creeping normality and to how much frustration could be avoided if we didn’t let small issues snowball into big headaches. Just like oiling the hinges turned my door from a squeaky mess into a ???? smooth operator ????, regular maintenance can do wonders for software systems. Fixing minor glitches early prevents bigger problems, boosts productivity, and keeps those frustration levels at check. Take a look at the ‘hinges’ in your software—what could use a little oil?