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WSJ article: http://www.wsj.com/articles/former-defense-secretary-marches-into-new-territory-videogames-1453483137 http://www.wsj.com/articles/former-defense-se

by to3m 11y ago

WSJ article: http://www.wsj.com/articles/former-defense-secretary-marches-into-new-territory-videogames-1453483137 http://www.wsj.com/articles/former-defense-secretary-marches... Mr. Rumsfeld can’t code. He doesn’t much even use a computer. But he guided his young digitally minded associates who assembled the videogame with the same method he used to rule the Pentagon—a flurry of memos called snowflakes. As a result, “Churchill Solitaire” is likely the only videogame developed by an 83-year-old man using a Dictaphone to record memos for the programmers. [...] “We need to do a better job on these later versions. They just get new glitches,” reads one note from Mr. Rumsfeld. “[W]e ought to find some way we can achieve steady improvement instead of simply making new glitches.” Related reading? - http://research.swtch.com/discover-debug http://research.swtch.com/discover-debug

sopooneo 11y ago
To me, this seems like the sort of project that would benefit greatly by putting an experienced project manager between the client (ie Rumsfeld) and the dev team. Other than planning meetings, I really think non-technical stake holders should never communicate directly with developers. I say that as a developer.
- voltagex_ 11y ago
  Sometimes, especially in smaller teams, devs also have to act in a business analyst role as well as coding - I've got to know how to talk to business as well as other developers and managers.
- briandear 11y ago
  So, we add another salary to the team for something that amounts to a small project? If devs don't have the acumen to deal with "clients" directly, then they ought not take on projects that would require working with clients. I see this all the time, especially with offshore development. I was the lead for a US project with an additional India team. We had a US-based PM for the Indian contractor. Then we had an India based PM, then we had 3 developers. Any time I needed to discuss something, I had to consult with the US PM, the US PM consulted with the India-based PM and the India based PM would then ask the devs. Then the answer would go through that path in reverse. A simple question like, "Where is the setup script file in the repo?" That took literally 6 emails, with delays of several hours between responses. Needless to say, that arrangement didn't last long before I fired the company. My point is that you don't always need an experienced project manager depending on the scope of the project and the number of developers. 10 devs -- yes absolutely. But 2 or 3 devs? Not necessarily.
  - sopooneo 11y ago
    I agree with you completely. I think there is definitely a minimum project scope before a PM becomes a good investment. But I also think there should be a multiplier for how scattered/non-technical/crazy the client is.
SyneRyder 11y ago
The description of that development process is dangerously reminiscent of an Oatmeal comic panel: http://s3.amazonaws.com/theoatmeal-img/comics/design_hell/8.png http://s3.amazonaws.com/theoatmeal-img/comics/design_hell/8.... Rumsfeld himself is interesting, though. There's a documentary about him currently on Netflix, directed by Errol Morris: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2390962/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2390962/ [Comic panel was from http://theoatmeal.com/comics/design_hell http://theoatmeal.com/comics/design_hell ]

by to3m 11y ago

sopooneo 11y ago

To me, this seems like the sort of project that would benefit greatly by putting an experienced project manager between the client (ie Rumsfeld) and the dev team. Other than planning meetings, I really think non-technical stake holders should never communicate directly with developers. I say that as a developer.

voltagex_ 11y ago
Sometimes, especially in smaller teams, devs also have to act in a business analyst role as well as coding - I've got to know how to talk to business as well as other developers and managers.
briandear 11y ago
So, we add another salary to the team for something that amounts to a small project? If devs don't have the acumen to deal with "clients" directly, then they ought not take on projects that would require working with clients. I see this all the time, especially with offshore development. I was the lead for a US project with an additional India team. We had a US-based PM for the Indian contractor. Then we had an India based PM, then we had 3 developers. Any time I needed to discuss something, I had to consult with the US PM, the US PM consulted with the India-based PM and the India based PM would then ask the devs. Then the answer would go through that path in reverse. A simple question like, "Where is the setup script file in the repo?" That took literally 6 emails, with delays of several hours between responses. Needless to say, that arrangement didn't last long before I fired the company. My point is that you don't always need an experienced project manager depending on the scope of the project and the number of developers. 10 devs -- yes absolutely. But 2 or 3 devs? Not necessarily.
- sopooneo 11y ago
  I agree with you completely. I think there is definitely a minimum project scope before a PM becomes a good investment. But I also think there should be a multiplier for how scattered/non-technical/crazy the client is.

SyneRyder 11y ago

The description of that development process is dangerously reminiscent of an Oatmeal comic panel: http://s3.amazonaws.com/theoatmeal-img/comics/design_hell/8.png http://s3.amazonaws.com/theoatmeal-img/comics/design_hell/8.... Rumsfeld himself is interesting, though. There's a documentary about him currently on Netflix, directed by Errol Morris: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2390962/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2390962/ [Comic panel was from http://theoatmeal.com/comics/design_hell http://theoatmeal.com/comics/design_hell ]