[Info-vax] OT: Is Software Management Obsolete?

[Neil Rieck]

On Oct 11, 5:49 am, IanMiller <g... at uk2.net> wrote:
> On Oct 11, 2:43 am, Arne Vajhøj <a... at vajhoej.dk> wrote:
>
>
>
> > Neil Rieck wrote:
> > > Is Software Management Obsolete?
>
> > >http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-berry/is-software-management-ob_b_2...
>
> > > Quote: What DeMarco seems to be saying -- and, at least, what I am
> > > definitely saying -- is that control is ultimately illusory on
> > > software development projects. If you want to move your project
> > > forward, the only reliable way to do that is to cultivate a deep sense
> > > of software craftsmanship and professionalism around it. The guys and
> > > gals who show up every day eager to hone their craft, who are
> > > passionate about building stuff that matters to them, and perhaps in
> > > some small way, to the rest of the world -- those are the people and
> > > projects that will ultimately succeed.
>
> > > This applies to many big corporation projects as well as Ontario's
> > > recent eHealth debacle.
>
> > There is a lot of both correct and new ideas in that, but the
> > correct ideas are not new and the new ideas are not correct.
>
> > * Highly skilled people produce better results than less skilled
> >    people.
>
> > * Enthusiasm is a major driver for becoming highly skilled.
>
> > * Highly skilled people require less supervision and coordination
> >    than less skilled people.
>
> > * The best coordination with the least overhead is when a single
> >    person can do it all.
>
> > That is true. Not just for software development but for all kinds
> > of work.
>
> > But management (supervision, coordination, planning etc.) is
> > needed on projects where a single person can not do it all.
>
> > Arne
>
> Time for  re-issue of the mythical man month book

Well, not wanting to get into a dogma-debate, let me quote the two
lines which originally jumped out at me:

Quote-1: cultivate a deep sense of software craftsmanship and
professionalism around it.

Quote-2: The guys and gals who show up every day eager to hone their
craft, who are passionate about building stuff that matters to them,
and perhaps in some small way, to the rest of the world -- those are
the people and
projects that will ultimately succeed.

Now I can tell you that the "project managers" working at my
employer's company know very little about computer hardware or
computer software. They certainly do not appear passionate about
anything other than going to lunch or attending a litany of conference
calls where nothing is ever accomplished because these people are out
of their area of expertise. On the flip side, government people
working at NASA knew "something about space flight" and "working with
defense contractors" when they managed/coordinated contractors
involved in a manned moon mission.

Last year, my employer canceled a development project were 450 were
let go with nothing to show for their effort. It makes you wonder
whether Thomas Edison or Henry Ford would have been able to invent
anything with (mostly) 450 project managers holding them back. How did
things get so bad? I think post-industrial western society has lost
its way.

NSR