It is a long tradition in the software world to ‘borrow’ things from Japan and apply them in North America. Lean? Kanban? Shu Ha Ri? All come from the other side of the Pacific. And in most cases I would say the ‘experts’ espousing them don’t really have the right to. Sure, they know the ‘concept’ and the ‘actions’ but do they really, really understand the cultural underpinnings that lead to them?

So along these lines, I’m going to start stealing from the Japanese. Here are my credentials…

  • I did Karate for eight weeks
  • My friends in highschool were ninjas
  • I did Kendo for a year
  • I have seen hundreds (and hundreds) of hours of Anime
  • My son now takes Karate so I’m hanging out at a dojo again (if only in the lobby)

Infinitely qualified, see?

First, I think we should steal the Tea Ceremony for its ceremony and presentation. Specifically designed rooms, lots of steps in specific order, repeatability and lots of history make it a fantastic specimen.

Oh.

Wait.

The Factory School already got to it.

Next then let’s steal Anime, or more specifically its Tropes. But let’s steal in a sensible way. Rather than apply things directly, each of these should be considered heuristic. And some of these are almost designed to baffle management. Imagine seeing ‘Quivering Eyes’ or ‘Snot Bubble’ or ‘Idiot Crows’ in a status update on the techniques used on a project. Priceless!

When I first thought of this post, I’m sure I had something on Japanese Gardens but can’t remember what, so that is left to the reader.

The final thing to steal is the notion of Shinbutsu shugo which is the syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism. In a testing context, there is Agile, Context-Driven, ATDD/BDD and Artistic camps. Each has its own priests and followers which get involved in religious debates. But the reconciliation and idea sharing is important regardless of religious differences. And now we can give a Japanese name for it.

And if we’re really good, we’ll mispronounce it.