Reinvent The Wheel : An Anti-Pattern of Pride

This next anti-pattern is "reinvent the wheel."  It is not a rare issue in solving problems.  However, it is still worth exploring.  Knowledge is not enough to avoid it.  Otherwise, it would be less common.  Likewise, the speed of progress in technical solutions makes it a challenge to keep current and avoid this anti-pattern.

 

Reinvent The Wheel Defined

We see this in many ways.  However, it always boils down to looking at a problem as a novel challenge, rather than something already solved.  The anti-pattern can appear from ignorance through to a false sense of accomplishment by solving any problem.  These lead us to be busy solving problems we could move past rather than productive.  It is the height of busyness over productivity.

The Anti-Pattern In Action

The result of this approach can be hard to see.  It is the act of taking a wrong path that is not going to be obvious unless the correct path can also be seen.  Therefore, we can merrily plow forward in a "reinvent the wheel" trap without knowing it.  That is why we need to spend time doing our due diligence and research into a solution before we implement it.  Otherwise, we will never know what we do not know.

 

Avoiding The Anti-Pattern The many ways this anti-pattern appears can all be addressed through research.  There are far too many sources available on the Internet for reviewing similar problems and retrospectives.  These can point to, or describe in detail, solutions your team can utilize.  Thus, a little time upfront can save a lot of time spent on implementation.