Collective Mental Acuity

It's an interesting phenomenon in the software industry that no matter how well you've done your job, you inevitably find more and more issues the closer you come to a release date. My group is near a beta release and it is peculiar how everyone gets "hypersensitive" as we near the date.

By hypersensitive, I don't mean everyone is at each other's throats (although I have seen that happen in other groups). I mean people become very sensitive to all aspects of what is being delivered. The most minute details that have been overlooked until now, are seen with surprisingly clarity as we inch toward the day of release.

Somehow, I believe our collective team consciousness plays off of one another's anticipation, and causes each of us to scrutinize things even more than we did prior to the impending deadline. In this way, our "hive-brain" becomes far more acute and sensitive and allows us to individually "see" much better.

It would be nice to learn the manner of how this happens and exercise control over the faculties in charge. The power to engage this super sensitivity whenever needed would be a beneficial one indeed. I don't think it could ever be an always-on characteristic though, as I think our bodies and minds cannot sustain it for too long. The group is always exhausted after a release - no matter how minor it may be.