Sprint Zero: Architecture Lessons Between Diapers and Deploys
Friday December 12, 2025
Getting back to writing isn’t easy. At the beginning of the year, I started this blog with every intention of keeping it active, but reality imposed itself: the year is about to end and continuity was almost nonexistent. Resuming writing—or any personal project—while managing multiple responsibilities and an expanding personal life is a constant juggling act.
This year, the equation changed drastically with the birth of my daughter. This forced me to understand that in life, as in product development, resources are finite and prioritization is non-negotiable. Sometimes we have to set aside ideas we’re passionate about to focus on what truly produces tangible results or has a critical impact, whether economic or personal.
This year, the equation changed drastically with the birth of my daughter. This forced me to understand that in life, as in product development, resources are finite and prioritization is non-negotiable. Sometimes we have to set aside ideas we’re passionate about to focus on what truly produces tangible results or has a critical impact, whether economic or personal.
Early Childhood as “Sprint Zero”
Beyond the code, fatherhood has taught me a fundamental lesson about project management. It’s said that a baby’s first years of life are the most critical; the earlier the attention, the more solid the foundations will be for their self-esteem and future development. According to UNICEF data and modern neuroscience, during the first 1,000 days of life, the brain forms more than one million neural connections per second. This early “brain architecture” is the foundation upon which all future learning and behavior is built. It is, literally, the base code of the human being.
This is identical to the initial phases of software development. Before “writing lines of code”—or before giving the first puree or rib—you need to plan the strategy. A common mistake is skipping the design stage due to rush, but my experience dictates that a well-planned and initiated project drastically increases its probability of success.
Phase 1, Planning and Design (Before the Code)
For a project to be real, the idea is not enough; you need to execute strategic planning of tasks, infrastructure, and tools. This is where Agile methodology comes to real life, long before programming.
Let’s imagine starting a new module. We can’t simply start programming. We need a Design or Planning Sprint:
Beyond the code, fatherhood has taught me a fundamental lesson about project management. It’s said that a baby’s first years of life are the most critical; the earlier the attention, the more solid the foundations will be for their self-esteem and future development. According to UNICEF data and modern neuroscience, during the first 1,000 days of life, the brain forms more than one million neural connections per second. This early “brain architecture” is the foundation upon which all future learning and behavior is built. It is, literally, the base code of the human being.
This is identical to the initial phases of software development. Before “writing lines of code”—or before giving the first puree or rib—you need to plan the strategy. A common mistake is skipping the design stage due to rush, but my experience dictates that a well-planned and initiated project drastically increases its probability of success.
Phase 1, Planning and Design (Before the Code)
For a project to be real, the idea is not enough; you need to execute strategic planning of tasks, infrastructure, and tools. This is where Agile methodology comes to real life, long before programming.
Let’s imagine starting a new module. We can’t simply start programming. We need a Design or Planning Sprint:
- Collaboration Tools: We define the flow in visual tools like Basecamp or Figma for wireframes and user experience (UX), and break down requirements into user stories in Fizzi.
- Timeboxing: We assign a realistic duration to the sprint (usually 2 weeks) and define what deliverables are viable in that time without generating immediate technical debt.
- Division of Responsibilities: It’s vital to separate the “what” from the “how.” While the Product Owner defines business priorities, the technical team (Backend/Frontend) must estimate complexity and decide who tackles the controllers and models, and who handles the visual components.
- In the case of a baby, for example: how will complementary feeding be introduced? In the traditional way with purees, or with the new BLW techniques that allow the baby to develop their motor skills and eat in a more “natural” way?
Architecture Decisions: The Payment Engine Example
Once you've moved past general planning, you enter granular decisions. In software: which payment provider? Direct library or wrapper? In parenting: BLW or purees? Crib or co-sleeping? Daycare at 6 months or at one year?
What matters isn't which one you choose, but that you choose it consciously during the design phase. These decisions, made calmly at the start, save you hundreds of hours of refactoring later.
Master the Night to Master the Morning
Finally, in agile methodologies, the beginning (Sprint Planning) is as important as the closing (Sprint Retrospective). We need to do a “post-mortem” at the end of each module to evaluate what went well and what went wrong.
This leads me to philosophize a bit. Stoics like Seneca practiced nightly reflection to examine the day lived, while Marcus Aurelius emphasized mentally preparing each morning to fulfill our purpose. This practice connects nights with mornings: reflecting before sleeping prepares us to wake with clarity.
If we evaluate how our day went (our little daily post-mortem), we can plan tomorrow’s priorities with greater clarity. So, before running toward the next goal or the next year, take the time to review the foundations and close the current cycle. Because a solid beginning is the best guarantee of a successful ending.
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Summary of the Technical Analogy: Your life is the production server. Your daughter is the most critical deployment you’ll ever make. And your nightly routine is the Sprint Retrospective: without it, you’ll keep committing the same bugs in the next Sprint.