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Any team they happen to be in. Teamwork is collaborative and new people always bring new ideas. One of the challenges of looking after a team of engineers is

Any team they happen to be in. Teamwork is collaborative and new people always bring new ideas. One of the challenges of looking after a team of engineers is setting up a team culture that allows ego-free analysis of that, rather than rigidly sticking to one approach no matter what. Ego-heavy engineers are quick to treat anything but their personal opinion as the wrong approach.

marginalia_nu 3y ago
You desperately need to let go of that oompa-loompa mentality when it's your own project. You need vision and ego if you're going to successfully lead a software project. You can't treat everyone who happens to pass by as a team-member whose opinions are as valuable as your own. Listen and let yourself be convinced, sure, but it's crucially important to be able to say "no, this feature is not in line with the vision for the project". Say yes sometimes too, by all means, but when you're in the position of the primary author and leader of the project, it's your call to make. If you say yes to every idea anyone brings by, you'll end up with The Homer[1]. [1] https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/File:The_Homer.png https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/File:The_Homer.png
- OJFord 3y ago
  > If you say yes to every idea anyone brings by, you'll end up with The Homer[1]. Judging by the description of it/the episode (https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/The_Homer https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/The_Homer), it seems to convey the opposite message? It was one person's (Homer's) vision, no input from others?
  - marginalia_nu 3y ago
    I'm not making a comparison with the process, but the outcome. Although I guess Homer Simpson could be argued to have had many ideas about what should be included in the car, although he didn't really have a vision for the car. So in that sense, it's still a reasonable parallel for the development methodology.
    - civilized 3y ago
      Homer is a satire of the American everyman and his supposed incoherent desire for everything at once. In that sense, a car designed by Homer is a car designed by a committee of yes-men.

marginalia_nu 3y ago

You desperately need to let go of that oompa-loompa mentality when it's your own project. You need vision and ego if you're going to successfully lead a software project. You can't treat everyone who happens to pass by as a team-member whose opinions are as valuable as your own. Listen and let yourself be convinced, sure, but it's crucially important to be able to say "no, this feature is not in line with the vision for the project". Say yes sometimes too, by all means, but when you're in the position of the primary author and leader of the project, it's your call to make. If you say yes to every idea anyone brings by, you'll end up with The Homer[1]. [1] https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/File:The_Homer.png https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/File:The_Homer.png

OJFord 3y ago
> If you say yes to every idea anyone brings by, you'll end up with The Homer[1]. Judging by the description of it/the episode (https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/The_Homer https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/The_Homer), it seems to convey the opposite message? It was one person's (Homer's) vision, no input from others?
- marginalia_nu 3y ago
  I'm not making a comparison with the process, but the outcome. Although I guess Homer Simpson could be argued to have had many ideas about what should be included in the car, although he didn't really have a vision for the car. So in that sense, it's still a reasonable parallel for the development methodology.
  - civilized 3y ago
    Homer is a satire of the American everyman and his supposed incoherent desire for everything at once. In that sense, a car designed by Homer is a car designed by a committee of yes-men.