4 ms·

Is management perhaps the "meta" of software development?

by aliswe 7y ago

bradlys 7y ago
The meta of software development is vague. Software development and the job aspects can be completely independent - and tightly coupled. So, really, the meta of software development as it pertains to your job would likely be more about the meta of your organization. You could try to scale up those ideas to a whole career and across all organizations but it's gonna be hard. What works in one place won't work in another - but if you know how to recognize the meta within each organization, you can find a meta that you think you'll do well in, and then try to work at places that follow that meta. But - honestly - I've found that hard as many organizations aren't very upfront with how they actually operate. We've all likely found that being really good at software development doesn't end up getting you a reward at your place of employment. You can be exceptionally good at something - the best - but still lose frequently. True of games as it is with life. It could be because the place you're working at is very team oriented - your team does well, you all get rewarded. It could be purely that your manager dictates it and won't recognize you. It could be that you're in an organization that doesn't value software engineers at all. It could be that you're good at the software development but haven't engaged on the more social aspects and that's what's key to getting rewards. I've had talks where the reason I wasn't getting rewarded is because I seemed too carefree about things - they wanted someone who seemed stressed out and really concerned all the time. Is that really related to software development in itself? I don't think so. There's a fuckton of reasons that aren't related to software development in itself that dictate why you won't progress. And I think that varies a lot between organizations/teams. Therefore, I'd say there is no big meta for a career in software development. I'd say there is a meta for work in different organizations. (As I don't see a lot of these things as specific to software development but specific to just general work culture)
Schwolop 7y ago
There are many games and many meta-games in this field. Here are two. For SWEs, one base game is to earn the most money. The play-space appears to be one's current company, so working hard on company-beneficial projects and doing well should lead to promotions and pay-rises. A meta-game for SWEs is realising that there are many companies that might hire you, so working on projects that benefit your current company may not be the best strategy. Instead, some SWEs attempt to work on projects that make their CV look more attractive to other companies. A base game for Managers is trying to get the most output out of the team of SWEs available, by shuffling work around, training people, putting experienced and inexperience people on the same project to spread knowledge, etc. There's a lot of strategy and tactics in this; trading-off short term losses for long term gains, and the like. A meta-game for Managers is being aware that some of those SWEs may be playing their own meta-game. Do you help that SWE to go up and out to replace them with a different SWE, perhaps with a more useful skillset? Do you cynically restrict them from working on CV-positive projects in an attempt (likely to fail and definitely unethical!) to keep them around? Do you find ways to pay or reward them more pre-emptively so that they're less interested in their meta-game? Sometimes these meta-games are "too clever by half" and you may well be better off ignoring them and focussing on the base game itself. The important point is to be aware that such meta-games exist, and that even when people appear to be playing the same game, they may in fact be playing to lose in order to win a meta-game instead.

Is management perhaps the "meta" of software development?

by aliswe 7y ago

Is management perhaps the "meta" of software development?

The meta of software development is vague. Software development and the job aspects can be completely independent - and tightly coupled. So, really, the meta of software development as it pertains to your job would likely be more about the meta of your organization. You could try to scale up those ideas to a whole career and across all organizations but it's gonna be hard. What works in one place won't work in another - but if you know how to recognize the meta within each organization, you can find a meta that you think you'll do well in, and then try to work at places that follow that meta. But - honestly - I've found that hard as many organizations aren't very upfront with how they actually operate. We've all likely found that being really good at software development doesn't end up getting you a reward at your place of employment. You can be exceptionally good at something - the best - but still lose frequently. True of games as it is with life. It could be because the place you're working at is very team oriented - your team does well, you all get rewarded. It could be purely that your manager dictates it and won't recognize you. It could be that you're in an organization that doesn't value software engineers at all. It could be that you're good at the software development but haven't engaged on the more social aspects and that's what's key to getting rewards. I've had talks where the reason I wasn't getting rewarded is because I seemed too carefree about things - they wanted someone who seemed stressed out and really concerned all the time. Is that really related to software development in itself? I don't think so. There's a fuckton of reasons that aren't related to software development in itself that dictate why you won't progress. And I think that varies a lot between organizations/teams. Therefore, I'd say there is no big meta for a career in software development. I'd say there is a meta for work in different organizations. (As I don't see a lot of these things as specific to software development but specific to just general work culture)

Schwolop 7y ago

There are many games and many meta-games in this field. Here are two. For SWEs, one base game is to earn the most money. The play-space appears to be one's current company, so working hard on company-beneficial projects and doing well should lead to promotions and pay-rises. A meta-game for SWEs is realising that there are many companies that might hire you, so working on projects that benefit your current company may not be the best strategy. Instead, some SWEs attempt to work on projects that make their CV look more attractive to other companies. A base game for Managers is trying to get the most output out of the team of SWEs available, by shuffling work around, training people, putting experienced and inexperience people on the same project to spread knowledge, etc. There's a lot of strategy and tactics in this; trading-off short term losses for long term gains, and the like. A meta-game for Managers is being aware that some of those SWEs may be playing their own meta-game. Do you help that SWE to go up and out to replace them with a different SWE, perhaps with a more useful skillset? Do you cynically restrict them from working on CV-positive projects in an attempt (likely to fail and definitely unethical!) to keep them around? Do you find ways to pay or reward them more pre-emptively so that they're less interested in their meta-game? Sometimes these meta-games are "too clever by half" and you may well be better off ignoring them and focussing on the base game itself. The important point is to be aware that such meta-games exist, and that even when people appear to be playing the same game, they may in fact be playing to lose in order to win a meta-game instead.