What Playing Minesweeper As A Kid Taught Me About Risk Management

Overview
In this Medium article, Oren Yam reflects on how playing the classic Windows game Minesweeper as a child shaped his thinking about risk management in software development. He draws parallels between identifying hidden mines on the board and spotting hidden threats in code, systems, and team dynamics, offering practical mental models for technical leaders.

Key Takeaways

• Treat unknowns as potential mines and prioritize investigation.
• Use systematic probing to uncover hidden defects before they cause failures.
• Balance aggressiveness and caution when making deployment decisions.
• Apply the concept of safe zones to allocate resources for monitoring and mitigation.

Who Would Benefit

• Engineering managers
• Technical leads
• Senior software developers
• Product owners
• Professionals interested in risk assessment and decision-making

Frameworks and Methodologies

• Risk assessment matrix
• Incident response playbook
• Continuous monitoring practices
• Agile retrospective techniques