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by jbarnette 4593 days ago
We use PRP in any situation where someone explicitly takes responsibility for an outcome, no matter whether the outcome is some software or a clean office or an accurate tax return.
1 comments

I'm intrigued as to what happens when no-one 'takes responsibility' for a non-optional task. Like a compliance issue, or that tax return.

Who assigns the shit task to whom?

There is no such thing as a shit task.

Added: That's a little too glib, sorry. Let me try again: From my perspective, if there's something that needs to be done at GitHub there are a few possibilities:

1. It needs to be done and it's getting done,

2. It needs to be done and it's not getting done, or

3. It's bullshit.

Cases of #3 become obvious pretty quickly. The best evidence: Searching for ways to make someone do it because nobody stepped up.

Cases of #2 can happen for a bunch of different reasons, but malice, apathy, laziness, or incompetence are the least likely ones. The most likely: Not enough hours in the day or not enough people with the knowledge necessary to be worried. No matter the reason for #2, someone at GitHub who is worried will generally try to get others to share their priorities, by persuasion, by hiring, or by prototyping.

Or occasionally by just jumping up and down and wailing.