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

[Arne Vajhøj]

Neil Rieck wrote:
> 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.

A good manager in software development does not need to be a good
programmer himself.

It is not his job to write code.

It is his job to ensure that:
- you have the hardware and tools you need to develop your software
- you have reasonable time to do so
- you have decent requirements
- that your design is approved by corporate architecture team
- that those other parts of the project you depend on get done in time
- that QA is ready to test when you deliver
etc.

That is his job.

Substitute his with hers if it is a female manager.

> 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.

An interesting question is: would the Apollo missions get of the
ground if it had been today.

Maybe, but I am pretty sure that it would have taken a lot
longer and costed a lot more money today.

Middle management is no longer "let us do it" but "I will cover
my ass so no one can blame me".

It makes everything move slower.

Arne