Idioms, Standards, and Conventions

Finally, a blog with more than a one word title.

Today we had some conversation about standards on our team. I think it was a good conversation. It got me thinking about idiomatic use of platforms. 

Did you know (technically) idioms are not standards? 

I'm all for idiomatic use of tools, platforms, etc. Doing it like others is a good thing. Convention over configuration, etc. etc.

That said, there are occasions where you need a standard. Just because your agile doesn't mean you can't have some kind of rigor. 

It is important for every team to figure out what standards they need, and each team is bound to be a bit different. It's also important to follow the standards if you have them. Having them and not following them is a bit of a waste.

Lastly, like all other things, you should periodically question why you have a standard and if it is still appropriate and/or needs to be changed, updated, or removed. As we learn more about what we're doing our needs usually change and sometimes our standards need to change with them.