When I started a job a few years ago, I was assigned to a project on a Marine Base. There was one member currently on the team as it was undergoing staffing transition, and he had perhaps the best and most memorable welcome I have ever received, which was a great example of good metaphors in IT.
He said something along the lines of: “We have only one rule here, and it was said best by the Rock: Know your role and shut your mouth.”
Now, I don’t know if this is strictly a sports metaphor, and it’s not really a metaphor anyways, but it does provide a good bit of guidance on getting started on something new.
Know your role: If you are staring on an established project, you are in a bit of a position like being lost at the mall. if you and your parent are both moving around, you’ll never find each other. However, if one person stays still, then you are much more likely to find each other (I hope this is actually true). The same goes here. if you know your role, your position with relation to the task is fixed, and it allows you to get a better handle on it. If you try to be developer, architect, and project manager at once, it will be very hard to gain any understanding of a part of the project as you’ll be looking at it from several vantages.
Shut your mouth: This is a tricky one. We all imagine we have valuable contributions to make, but often, it is the smart move to be quiet and let the other parties do the talking. Especially in the context of a new project, or where you are new to an existing project. Especially when there are senior experts and you don’t know what is happening, as was the case with me on this project. Engineers are often a talkative people, but often, it’s a good choice not to talk.