3 ms·

In my opinion, the biggest source of technical debt in our industry is HR. Design-by-HR has led to so many awful, awful projects, endless grind, and disastrous

In my opinion, the biggest source of technical debt in our industry is HR. Design-by-HR has led to so many awful, awful projects, endless grind, and disastrous architecture. Technical organizations which dissuade the HR power grab, usually have a lot better technical management and therefore architecture - and the technical debt is minimized. Technical organizations which defer to HR-derived architecture decisions are doomed to become a churning quagmire. HR people: you've got to learn to stop interfering with technicians and engineers, because of your career choice. You're really not needed by organizations that build their technical resources properly.

supernovae 6y ago
If you see it as an us vs them, then the problem has nothing to do with architecture, tech or technical debt in any framing of the words.
- somesortofsystm 6y ago
  Sure, tell that to the HR authorities who are insisting on only hiring one 'type' of developer for the currently exasperated teams, who then have to do things that types way, or else - even when half the team already does 'type' and knows why we should stop doing it. I know its not a popular opinion, but 30+ years of experience in the software industry, from top to bottom, including stints in HR projects, has led me to conclude: HR is never senior to technical staff. Ever. HR is not your friend. It is an organizational adversary imposed, usually, by executives who cannot make technical arguments or see things through to completion, no matter the depth of their understanding of the subject in focus, or otherwise. If you are a technical person, never accept career guidance from someone who cannot do your job. Period. Technology is about action, and doing things. Its not about identity. HR in the modern zeitgeist, from big corp to startup, typically avoids having to participate in any action of company product-building by instead promoting identity-as-service. That this gets inverted is a huge cause of technical debt, imposed by nonsense policies and scripts that do not have a place in technological realms, but rather drama theater.
  - supernovae 6y ago
    I can only remind you, that this isn't everyone's reality and that the problem may not be external, it may be you.
    - somesortofsystm 6y ago
      Then you would be inferring that as a professional, I would be incapable of making an objective assessment of the teams I have been asked to manage, recruit for, rescue, reform, refactor, or disband .. over a period of 30 years. But that's okay, I could as easily dismiss you with the rationale that you are probably a HR person, as you seem mostly interested in psychology and not the very real, counter-productive problems one might encounter were one to work in the technology industry.

supernovae 6y ago

If you see it as an us vs them, then the problem has nothing to do with architecture, tech or technical debt in any framing of the words.

somesortofsystm 6y ago
Sure, tell that to the HR authorities who are insisting on only hiring one 'type' of developer for the currently exasperated teams, who then have to do things that types way, or else - even when half the team already does 'type' and knows why we should stop doing it. I know its not a popular opinion, but 30+ years of experience in the software industry, from top to bottom, including stints in HR projects, has led me to conclude: HR is never senior to technical staff. Ever. HR is not your friend. It is an organizational adversary imposed, usually, by executives who cannot make technical arguments or see things through to completion, no matter the depth of their understanding of the subject in focus, or otherwise. If you are a technical person, never accept career guidance from someone who cannot do your job. Period. Technology is about action, and doing things. Its not about identity. HR in the modern zeitgeist, from big corp to startup, typically avoids having to participate in any action of company product-building by instead promoting identity-as-service. That this gets inverted is a huge cause of technical debt, imposed by nonsense policies and scripts that do not have a place in technological realms, but rather drama theater.
- supernovae 6y ago
  I can only remind you, that this isn't everyone's reality and that the problem may not be external, it may be you.
  - somesortofsystm 6y ago
    Then you would be inferring that as a professional, I would be incapable of making an objective assessment of the teams I have been asked to manage, recruit for, rescue, reform, refactor, or disband .. over a period of 30 years. But that's okay, I could as easily dismiss you with the rationale that you are probably a HR person, as you seem mostly interested in psychology and not the very real, counter-productive problems one might encounter were one to work in the technology industry.