Agile DIY?!

I found?myself back at Bunnings for the nth time over the long weekend trying to finish a DIY project - modifying a cheap lawnmower to get the perfect cut. When I start a DIY project, I don’t bother with detailed plans or blueprints. I just go to Bunnings, buy every part in every possible size and option, and take it home to try things out. My process goes something like this:

1. Start with all the parts and all the tools—no decisions made yet.?
2. Mock up Version 1: try some cuts, check some fits.
3. Dismantle, adjust, return half the items to Bunnings, and take the learnings into Version 2.
4. Repeat until something actually works.

Forget “measure twice, cut once” - I cut once, eyeball it, then cut it again, because the faster I make that second cut, the quicker it’ll be right. And when I estimate the work the answer is always “20 minutes.” I always say “20 minutes” because if I admit it’ll take an hour, my wife will tell me to stop! I know that exact target dates are just hopes. By midnight, I'm still at it, and the whole family agrees: based on past performance data, the project is nearing completion when my Bunnings trips drop from three times a day to just once a week.

I’m the perfect Agile DIYer!

Well, not quite. While I’m adaptive and iterative, there are plenty of ways I’m not very Agile at home. I love putting time into whatever task I’m most excited about at that moment—even if that means ignoring other tasks. And no WSJF score is going to change that. I love “gold-plating” my solutions, chasing perfection long after “good enough” has been achieved (the grass is green enough on this side according to the wife). Testing? Not a fan when it comes to my home DIY, as it disrupts the creative flow. Switching tools also disrupts my flow: I’d much rather wield the angle grinder to make all the cuts at once, instead of repeatedly switching quickly between measuring, cutting and testing. And there’s no chance I’m tidying up my workplace to make the place presentable every night.

Home projects are supposed to be fun. For me it’s where I can just let my motivation lead me. Yet these very habits - taking shortcuts, focusing on my creative flow, and delaying testing - are also what we see in people’s natural behaviour at work. And that’s why the real change to agile sometimes needs a nudge to get it going in the right direction. Knowing this makes it easier for me to empathise with others and help them make changes when needed.

And if you also enjoy dismantling and rebuilding lawnmowers to achieve the perfect 4mm lawn, I would love to have a retrospective. The wife is fed up hearing about it.