Wednesday, November 09, 2005

JIT (Just-In-Time) Buzzword

I'm hearing this word more and more frequently these days. Anytime we talk to a vendor I hear: "Yeah, we use JIT technology for our JSPs." Initially I thought this was cool. "JIT" SOUNDS cool. But if you think deeply about what this term really means, it's stupid. Really, what does "just-in-time" technology mean?

Before I address that, think about this: Anytime a marketing agent introduces a new term to the industry, everyone tries to make it fit everywhere.

So what is "just in time"? It means waiting until the very last minute, that's what it means. It means you didn't have time to plan it so you're going to wait until the absolute last minute to do the task.

So if your wife asks if you mowed the lawn, you can just say: "No, I'm doing JIT mowing now." She'll be impressed. Or if your mom asks if you've cleaned your room you can say: "I'm on a just-in-time cleaning schedule mom." She'll say: "Wow, that's good honey."

Now, one of our Directors at the Enterprise is saying that he's using just-in-time education. What's that? It means he has no plans for educating his people on key areas right now, he'll just wait until the package is installed and running and THEN he'll educate folks on how to implement it. You know, just in time.

It's a great concept. Now you don't have to plan anything anymore. Just use the JIT approach.

...dave
Don't tell your problems to people: eighty percent don't care; and the other twenty percent are glad you have them. -Lou Holtz

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