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Regarding 1, I'll link to a comment downthread (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9009056 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9009056): you're in tricky ter
by hyperpape 12y ago
Regarding 1, I'll link to a comment downthread (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9009056 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9009056): you're in tricky territory if you're giving direction that detailed.
Giving a level of guidance that's appropriate is good. Treating a junior dev as incapable of working except as a puppet is soul-crushing.
- jkaunisv1 12y agoI think the part about backing off the level of detail is important. I've learned a lot about breaking down a large goal into smaller tasks by having it done for me a couple times. Even the first time I was laughing at how specific some tasks were, but it gave me a model to work from when I planned the next one myself.
- edw519 12y agoThanks for the interesting feedback, hyperpape. I agree that this is tricky, or "delicate" as I prefer to call it. What you cite is a classic example of academia vs. the real world. I am currently responsible for 19 offshore programmers of varying skill levels and work habits and this is exactly how I've been handling their assignments for 5 years. I have gotten better results this way than any other technical lead I know. At first, they love the extra detail. Then over time, they push back. And without exception, they all want to be in my group. Grandparent was my own heavy experience getting great results with issues similar to OP's. I know there are academic studies for just about everything, but remember, it's my ass on the line if the work doesn't get done, not the professors.