Applying Coding Principles to Operations
If you read my earlier article, Peas in a Pod — Ops & Tech, then you know how I feel about the role of technology in operations. If you didn’t read it, the summary is— It’s super-duper important. You can’t have one without the other.
Now let’s say you know this is true, but are still having trouble jumping into the world of technology and getting your hands dirty with data, integrations, and automations. I get it. It’s overwhelming and can be scary. So let me dip your toe into technology without fully jumping into the deep end.
There are three basic principles of coding that can be applied into your operational tool set...without even writing a line of code:
Variables
Functions
Logic
Yes, they sound fancy, but the concepts are simple! So don’t freak out just yet. Let’s dive in.
1️⃣ Variables
Variables are used to save and reference information.
Let’s use your expenses as an example. Write down every purchase you made today, then add it all up under the word “total”. The “Total” value is a very simple form of a variable. As you add more expenses to that list, your “Total” variable changes. You are storing one value, which you can then save and change.
Now, variables come in lots of different forms. Some are numbers or text. There’s also fancier kinds like a boolean, that just tell you if something is true or false, like a checkbox.
By knowing what variables you need to monitor (numbers, text, true/false), you can develop and track your operations across the business.
2️⃣ Functions
Functions can be looked at as the “how” of the coding world. Within technology, functions are used to perform tasks to automate steps, so they don’t need to be done manually.
Like in the example above. Instead of bringing out a calculator to add up all the purchases you made today, instead you can use a function, let’s name it “Add Expenses” that says— add all of those numbers together automatically and return the “Total” cost as a variable.
If you’ve ever used Excel or Microsoft sheets, then you are probably already familiar with this ability using the sum() formula! Developers take this ability and use it to automate lots of steps behind the scenes. Functions are the gears that make programs work.
3️⃣ Logic
Adding logic to functions and variables is where the fun really begins! Logic is used to control the flow of a workflow, just like our brains use logic for decisions.
To bring back the expense example, let’s say you want to set up a way to help stop excess spending. You can bring logic into the equation. If you spend over $100 in a day, your credit card automatically freezes (I wish!). The logic uses the function “Add Expenses” to give you an up-to-date number on the “Total” amount you’ve spent. Which then can trigger the action to keep the credit card working or freeze it.
In the coding world, logic is formerly known as control structures and is used to execute specific blocks of code based on certain conditions. Some common control structures that you may have heard of are if/else statements and loops.
👉 Wrap Up
These three basic principles are the building blocks of not only technology, but also operations! If you don’t consider yourself a technical person, you may not even realize that you are already used the mindset of a technologist to do your work. How about that!