This topic of whether a person should be proactive or reactive is quite debatable but at the same time really interesting. The context of this topic will be based on software development. We will understand the benefits of each behavior and then will conclude. However, before delving too much into the topic, let us first understand the meaning of these terms with respect to software development.
Proactive: If a person is proactive, it means that the person never waits for any critical issues to be reported from the customer. Instead, he or she tries to identify beforehand the possibility of any severe issues that may arise in the future and then try to resolve those issues at the earliest.
Reactive: When a person is reactive, it means that the person does not take any preventive action rather waits for the issues to happen in the production environment. Once the customer reports those issues, the person figures out the root cause of those issues and then resolves those.
I hope the definition of these two terms- Proactive and Reactive is now clear to you. In case you have doubts, feel free to leave a comment below and I will try to explain to the best of my abilities.
Let us understand the pros of being proactive.
Pros of being proactive
- You don’t need to face the pressure of delivering a fix faster when a critical issue gets reported from the customer since you were able to identify those issues even before releasing the product to the customer.
- When you are proactive, you get appreciation from your manager, colleagues, and the other persons involved in the project.
- You save time and money for your company when you act proactively. For example, there can be a scenario when testing for the basic functionality of a product is missed somehow and this gets reported from the customer. Now, you are going to have a nightmare for several days about how this got missed and the customer in extreme cases can sue your company as well. Think about the time and effort you need to apply now to make sure the issue gets fixed and your company may also need to spend money for the lawsuit. However, your proactivity can help save all the time and money for your organization.
Let us now discuss about the pros of being reactive.
Pros of being reactive
A person is supposed to react when he or she failed in figuring out any potential issues before the product gets released. This is fine since it is not possible to determine all the potential defects before a product gets launched. Moreover, trying to solve each and every issue before the release can lead to a delay of the release and you may end up losing a potential customer.
The more the customer uses the product, the more feedback the product team will receive. If a critical issue gets reported, think about how to resolve this effectively. Can some innovation be brought here so that it becomes easier for your client to use the product?
Another advantage is that you don’t need to focus on too many things before the release. Once the customer starts reporting any issues, you can focus on those specific ones and resolve those. By following this route, you are not wasting your time and energy on resolving unnecessary issues before the release. Instead, you could focus on some other areas which would require your attention.
Conclusion
Proactivity is here to stay and there is no doubt that most companies prefer to take the proactive route. However, one needs to find a balance of proactive and reactive behavior to increase productivity. For example, if one can determine which issues really need to be targeted before the release, focus on fixing those first but make sure those issues do not delay your product launch. The less severe issues can likely be targeted if the customer complains about those.
Do you agree with my conclusion?
Recommended Reading
