4 ms·

I'm reminded of the story of Windows NT and how David Cutler commented at one point after the release that divorces and nervous breakdowns were tracked in the p

I'm reminded of the story of Windows NT and how David Cutler commented at one point after the release that divorces and nervous breakdowns were tracked in the program metrics. I expect that's hyperbole, but there is a real cost to these death marches. I couldn't find that specific quote, though, and being 25 years back it could be a false memory of who said it (I did read it somewhere, if you were on the team at the time, please speak up!). Here are a couple of illustrations[0][1]. [0] http://read.pudn.com/downloads196/ebook/923902/ShowStopper!-The%20Breakneck%20Race%20To%20Create%20WindowsNT%20And%20The%20Next%20Generation%20At%20Microsoft.pdf http://read.pudn.com/downloads196/ebook/923902/ShowStopper!-... [1] http://www.proudlyserving.com/archives/2007/09/dave_cutler_win.html http://www.proudlyserving.com/archives/2007/09/dave_cutler_w...

saagarjha 6y ago
I remember that some engineers on the iPhone project went through divorces as a result of working on it.
munificent 6y ago
> I expect that's hyperbole, but there is a real cost to these death marches. I used to be a game developer at EA. In the middle of one particularly nightmarish 60-hour-weeks-for-months crunch, a twenty-something artist with no known pre-existing conditions spontaneously died in his sleep.
- anonacct38 6y ago
  I went through a pretty intense crunch time at a fortune 10. We had one person go to the hospital with tachycardia and 3 people who were vomiting. There were only 10 people on the team.
sixstringtheory 6y ago
I believe it. During my last stretch of unemployment I started tracking the days I couldn't get out of bed in my spreadsheets.
Bayart 6y ago
I find it fascinating that so much engineers (arguably « smart » people) are actively hurting themselves over a freaking job and acting as if it were just a fact of life.
- whomst 6y ago
  Plenty of people throughout history have martyred themselves for what they believed in. Fascinating for sure but being smart is a completely different question.
georgiecasey 6y ago
I started reading the intro to that Show Stopper book and can't stop. Great stuff, thanks

saagarjha 6y ago

I remember that some engineers on the iPhone project went through divorces as a result of working on it.

munificent 6y ago

> I expect that's hyperbole, but there is a real cost to these death marches. I used to be a game developer at EA. In the middle of one particularly nightmarish 60-hour-weeks-for-months crunch, a twenty-something artist with no known pre-existing conditions spontaneously died in his sleep.

anonacct38 6y ago
I went through a pretty intense crunch time at a fortune 10. We had one person go to the hospital with tachycardia and 3 people who were vomiting. There were only 10 people on the team.

sixstringtheory 6y ago

I believe it. During my last stretch of unemployment I started tracking the days I couldn't get out of bed in my spreadsheets.

Bayart 6y ago

I find it fascinating that so much engineers (arguably « smart » people) are actively hurting themselves over a freaking job and acting as if it were just a fact of life.

whomst 6y ago
Plenty of people throughout history have martyred themselves for what they believed in. Fascinating for sure but being smart is a completely different question.

georgiecasey 6y ago

I started reading the intro to that Show Stopper book and can't stop. Great stuff, thanks