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

[Arne Vajhøj]

John Wallace wrote:
> I'm not sure it's the complete answer anyway. E.g. It has become
> fashionable in the part of the industry that does big projects to
> value process and standards (and "methodology"), and adherence to
> process and standards, instead of untrendy things like competence and
> ability to improve the quality of the product/service. I suspect one
> reason for this is that "management" are often clueless at evaluating
> competence and quality (obviously this is based on companies I have
> observed rather than companies I have worked at).

Process and competence are not mutually exclusive.

I would say that:
- competence and a few processes determines average
- most processes determine variance

Process can not transform a bad team to a good team, but
process can prevent a good team from having a bad day (day
meaning one project not literally 24 hours).

> The once-trendy CMMI stuff is an example. There's a lovely two-page
> CMMI spoof around but I can't find it right now, where the CMMI levels
> are small negative integers corresponding to the destructiveness of
> the management regime. Anyone know the one I mean, please?

As I usually put it: if McDonalds were making software then they
would be at a very high CMMI level.

Arne