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> coding things that solved problems we didn't have Couldn't this be solved by using a project management app?

dahart 10y ago
In my experience, no. Project management apps don't substitute for communication very well, and things tend to get worse and not better when apps are expected to carry important discussions. If tasks are cut and dried, specified precisely, with no decisions to make, and no input from the engineer, then apps might help a lot. I've never had very much work of that sort, I'm usually highly involved in the discussions about what should be done and how it should be done. Worth noting that the experiences I'm talking about, watching programmers go off the rails, and going off the rails myself, many involved the use of various project management, tracking and review tools. It's not true for all projects or all programmers, I make no absolute claims. But my personal experience has been that figuring out the right approach to anything that takes more than a couple of days takes multiple conversations no matter what. My personal experience has been that tasks that run longer than a week almost always need one or more course corrections before they're complete.
- babyrainbow 10y ago
  Well. Remote work demands a little more active communication. If you are not upto it, you are going to have that experience you mentioned, ie solving non-existing problems. Working in an office also demands a lot like for example all the social stuff and politics that goes with it. Putting in a bit more effort into communicating actively in case of remote work, pales in comparison to that. To clarify what I mean by active communication: Instead of thinking "Oh, I am not really sure about this. Let me ask John next time I see him in the hallway", Open your email or what ever communication app you use, fire a message right away. I have also find it helpful to maintain a "thought log", where you scribble down your random thoughts about the works or concerns that you might have, that other interested people can look up..

In my experience, no. Project management apps don't substitute for communication very well, and things tend to get worse and not better when apps are expected to carry important discussions. If tasks are cut and dried, specified precisely, with no decisions to make, and no input from the engineer, then apps might help a lot. I've never had very much work of that sort, I'm usually highly involved in the discussions about what should be done and how it should be done. Worth noting that the experiences I'm talking about, watching programmers go off the rails, and going off the rails myself, many involved the use of various project management, tracking and review tools. It's not true for all projects or all programmers, I make no absolute claims. But my personal experience has been that figuring out the right approach to anything that takes more than a couple of days takes multiple conversations no matter what. My personal experience has been that tasks that run longer than a week almost always need one or more course corrections before they're complete.

babyrainbow 10y ago
Well. Remote work demands a little more active communication. If you are not upto it, you are going to have that experience you mentioned, ie solving non-existing problems. Working in an office also demands a lot like for example all the social stuff and politics that goes with it. Putting in a bit more effort into communicating actively in case of remote work, pales in comparison to that. To clarify what I mean by active communication: Instead of thinking "Oh, I am not really sure about this. Let me ask John next time I see him in the hallway", Open your email or what ever communication app you use, fire a message right away. I have also find it helpful to maintain a "thought log", where you scribble down your random thoughts about the works or concerns that you might have, that other interested people can look up..