Christy Frikken goes through some creeping tips…

…for people who hate creeping!

Creeping kinda sucks. We all love the results of creeping, but lying on those boards is un-fun. It saps energy and leads to sore necks. 

So how can you get the benefit with less of it?

Walk it

To creep less walk more. Your first walkthrough can teach you the dive, identify engineering issues, and flag tricky parts. Done correctly, you will know the flow and areas that need attention on the creepers. Just don’t over-angle it.

Make a Plan, do the plan

If you are on a team, make a creeping plan and do it every time. Which method you choose is not as important as picking a strategy and doing it consistently. As a result, you will become efficient and waste less time floundering on the boards, remembering what to do next.

Rule of Two

One of my favorite tips! If there is a single error in the creep, let the person self-correct. If the error happens twice, stop and make it perfect. The rule of two strikes a balance of correcting your errors without verbalizing and ensuring that you fix problems before the jump. As a bonus, it can reduce team tensions.

If there is a single error in the creep, let the person self-correct. If the error happens twice, stop and make it perfect

Stay focused

It can be easy to go through the motions without really paying attention. To squeeze the most from creeping, focus instead of daydreaming about beer at the Bombshelter. If you concentrate, you will get more out of prep, and you will get it right sooner.

Less peeping, more creeping

I can’t tell you how often I have found myself on the creepers having long discussions about dinner plans. Somewhere in the conversation, I think, “what the hell are we doing talking about this in the prone position?” Lying here is weird and uncomfortable. I’m not saying that we don’t joke around, but if you want to creep less, have the conversations while standing up like normal humans.

have conversations while standing up like normal humans!

Spot creep

Finally, consider spot creeping if you can’t do a complete creep because of time or injury. With this option, the team identifies the weirdest transitions and creeps those parts. Again, this provides a lot of benefit without doing the whole dive.

Creeping isn’t super fun, but it is important. Gain the goodness with less effort by walking well, practicing a great plan, staying focused, talking less, and targeting the tricky bits. 

Creeping isn’t super fun, but it is important

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Find more great articles from Christy Frikken on her site.

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