3 ms·

I think this runs back on "Innovator's Dilemma"[1] and "... they didn't think if they should build it." I say it is also a failure of scaling and power struggl

I think this runs back on "Innovator's Dilemma"[1] and "... they didn't think if they should build it." I say it is also a failure of scaling and power struggle. Because you have to have a VP for engineering and a VP of product to show to your customers and to your employees right? As the article does well to point out that backfires in so many ways: "engineers get stuck due to lack of context." Imagine the market needing a bridge and internally to be playing pantomime on "we need a beam I think of x weight..." Try to build a plane that way I dare you. Software is fine as you can just convince the customer to buy extra hardware. That sucks of course if you expect to consider your employees as resources in a factory chain because of course those models apply cleanly to engineering work... (That last sentence was sarcastic.) Companies do it because it is cheaper to have people multi task in the short term and ticks boxes. That's what kills companies so I am fine with that I guess. More companies will sprung that will be better hopefully. 1. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2615.The_Innovator_s_Dilemma https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2615.The_Innovator_s_Dil...

hinkley 4y ago
> Try to build a plane that way I dare you. This may be why modern Boeing is so fucked. source: worked on the 787 program, the hardware for our team was selected before there was a team. Our part was only successful and on time in large part because I'm a stubborn asshole.
- eftychis 4y ago
  Thanks for the input! I have only second and third hand input from the 787 program so didn't want to imply anything there. I hope Boeing fixes that managerial issues leading to what you describe as I am a fan of its historical product in general. (If I am reading your comments right and I am not blinded by my pre-conceptions.)
  - hinkley 4y ago
    Boeing isn't Boeing anymore, it's McDonnell Douglas wearing a Boeing skin suit. I think that example is slightly tangential to your thrust, but sort of illustrates the bigger problem that when a project is operating anywhere near the boundaries of logistical possibility, it becomes very hard to incorporate perspective from the people with boots on the ground, who know ten ways to get something done and that your suggestion isn't one of them. It's the same problem General Contractors have with trying to herd architects who try to design at the limits of materials science and don't understand that there's a large gap between physics and execution, where building codes, manufacturing defects, and the ravages of time all live. Not to mention costs (exotic materials often require exotic labor).
- BerislavLopac 4y ago
  Stubborn Assholes is the name of my new post-punk trash-metal crossover band.

hinkley 4y ago

> Try to build a plane that way I dare you. This may be why modern Boeing is so fucked. source: worked on the 787 program, the hardware for our team was selected before there was a team. Our part was only successful and on time in large part because I'm a stubborn asshole.

eftychis 4y ago
Thanks for the input! I have only second and third hand input from the 787 program so didn't want to imply anything there. I hope Boeing fixes that managerial issues leading to what you describe as I am a fan of its historical product in general. (If I am reading your comments right and I am not blinded by my pre-conceptions.)
- hinkley 4y ago
  Boeing isn't Boeing anymore, it's McDonnell Douglas wearing a Boeing skin suit. I think that example is slightly tangential to your thrust, but sort of illustrates the bigger problem that when a project is operating anywhere near the boundaries of logistical possibility, it becomes very hard to incorporate perspective from the people with boots on the ground, who know ten ways to get something done and that your suggestion isn't one of them. It's the same problem General Contractors have with trying to herd architects who try to design at the limits of materials science and don't understand that there's a large gap between physics and execution, where building codes, manufacturing defects, and the ravages of time all live. Not to mention costs (exotic materials often require exotic labor).
BerislavLopac 4y ago
Stubborn Assholes is the name of my new post-punk trash-metal crossover band.