The Illusion Of Technically Competent Managers
Filed Under Human Factors, Software Process | 8 Comments
The role of technical manager is inherently flawed by nature.
It is insanely rare that you can find someone who is both technically competent and has the people management skills to accomplish this job - so already you are working against the odds. Jurgen’s recent opinion that most software developers are utterly unqualified for such […]
Quit Sweeping Known Uncertainity Under The Rug
Filed Under Human Factors, Software Process | 4 Comments
This is a continuation of the post - Mr. Yuk Says Project Roadmaps Are Poisonous
As the saying goes, the first step in fighting addiction is admitting you have a problem. Unfortunately, it is human nature for us to rationalize away our problems. Problems which then create ticking time bombs in fragile card houses.
One […]
Mr. Yuk Says Project Roadmaps Are Poisonous
Filed Under Software Process | 6 Comments
For some time now, I have thought that high-level project roadmaps (Gantt charts in particular) are one of the most worthless documents that a software project team can produce. I shouldn’t be so hard on them, but there are an uncountable number of reasons why I despise these charts.
Quantifies Unknowns
As the old saying goes:
You […]
Refactoring Code Is Like Doing The Dishes
Filed Under Thought Stuff, Software Process | 6 Comments
Regardless of language and skill set, all developers have to constantly revisit their code and refactor. Although you can look at it optimistically and view it as an opportunity for continuous improvement, many of us also take the pessimistic view that it is a chore.
Unfortunately, either way you look at it refactoring is a […]
Does Satisfice Mean Agile?
Filed Under Thought Stuff, Software Process | 1 Comment
Satisfy + Suffice = Satisfice
The term satisfice was coined by Herbert Simon in context to economics, that is, that we will exert enough energy to reach the minimum level of acceptability in something but never reach the maximum potential.
Furthermore, Simon pointed out that human beings lack the cognitive resources to maximize: we usually do not […]
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