3 ms·

I get what this is saying, but there does seem to be a nearly-unspoken assumption here that the "perfect" working environment involves high-frequency communicat

by dasmoth 10y ago

I get what this is saying, but there does seem to be a nearly-unspoken assumption here that the "perfect" working environment involves high-frequency communication, including regular synchronous communication -- i.e. replicating the open-plan/daily standups/short iterations model of programming that seems to be the current thing for in-office programming jobs. That's a perfectly reasonable model, and clearly suits a lot of people well, but I do hope there's still appetite for exploring coarser-grained "trust people to go off on their own to solve problems" models as well.

ljf 10y ago
It's hard - when that model (leave people to do the right thing) works well - it is amazing. It needs skilled and engaged people. The problem comes when you have people that don't work well under that model, and who need continual check points to ensure they really are doing the right thing, and that you haven't just wasted a bunch of time. Getting these two groups to work together is hard, when sadly, getting great people is hard.
- dasmoth 10y ago
  Agreed. But there doesn't seem to even be much willingness to try the "autonomous people" model.
  - soundwave106 10y ago
    There is unfortunately a bias against introversion in many companies, which explains why some don't bother to try. (Recent article: http://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21706490-organisations-have-too-long-been-oriented-towards-extroverts-companies-should-help http://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21706490-...) Having said that I agree also that there are also trust issues. Forming trust is a hard thing. It's a shame, because programming (from at least my perspective) is one discipline, where the quality of work is so much higher when you are "in the zone" and can concentrate on a single task without interruptions.

3 ms·

I get what this is saying, but there does seem to be a nearly-unspoken assumption here that the "perfect" working environment involves high-frequency communicat

by dasmoth 10y ago

ljf 10y ago
It's hard - when that model (leave people to do the right thing) works well - it is amazing. It needs skilled and engaged people. The problem comes when you have people that don't work well under that model, and who need continual check points to ensure they really are doing the right thing, and that you haven't just wasted a bunch of time. Getting these two groups to work together is hard, when sadly, getting great people is hard.
- dasmoth 10y ago
  Agreed. But there doesn't seem to even be much willingness to try the "autonomous people" model.
  - soundwave106 10y ago
    There is unfortunately a bias against introversion in many companies, which explains why some don't bother to try. (Recent article: http://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21706490-organisations-have-too-long-been-oriented-towards-extroverts-companies-should-help http://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21706490-...) Having said that I agree also that there are also trust issues. Forming trust is a hard thing. It's a shame, because programming (from at least my perspective) is one discipline, where the quality of work is so much higher when you are "in the zone" and can concentrate on a single task without interruptions.