Dear Reader,
[Ed. Note: This is an editorial originally appeared on Freshmeat in 2000]
I for everyone: Hi, my name is Cal … and I’m … I’m a manager
Everyone:.! Hi, Cal
I am a developer who made the conscious decision to move to management. My background, my experience and my love has always been the development of software. I worked with sales managers, business managers, and a CTO (shudder) who believed that all good software had already been written and therefore did not have to write anything; we could just buy whatever we needed. I switched to the management for a reason: (.! Thanks, Paul M). I had a manager that I “took” and showed me, by example, developers can become great leaders for other developers
During my career as a developer, I learned many different things, but the one that I took with me is this axiom:
If you’ve never been a software developer, you do not have nothing to do with the management of software developers.
And I did it again. At least one third of you is now angry with me. But regardless of your feelings about my person, I stand by my statement because, time and again, whether through the personal experience of 24 years or war stories of others, she survived.
Before you loose the dogs on me and shoot me, let me be quick to point out that I do not believe that this maximum is universally applicable to all situations or lifestyles. I’m not belittling anyone or occupation, but I believe that in most cases, we, as human beings, co-workers and occupations have enough shared experience to be able to relate to others. I do not believe that this maxim applies the sexes or races. However, there are some areas where it applies, and I know most are related to software development. I will present three different thoughts on why I believe this to be true, which I believe caused the current crisis and what I think we can do about it.
There are very few professions that combine creativity involved in the successful development of software and strict deadlines, often imposed. Hurry up and create! The ideas have to keep flowing, they have to be scheduled and need to be completed in time. If you need to find something, go. But make sure you will be back after lunch and that their schedule will not fail. Developers, especially now that we work in Web years, are under increasing pressure “Lance fast!”.
The rigorous and detailed engagement quality software development, however, has not changed. Still takes time to develop quality software. To outsiders, sometimes it may seem that what we do is easy. The ease with which developers manipulate the tools of the trade is often misinterpreted as the ease with which the task can be completed. Only a developer understand the countless hours it takes to master new tools, new languages and new concepts. This rapid development period, new ideas come to people like a fire hose of knowledge. We must know how to take it all in and being able to use them in our next project. This burden is almost bearable if management understand what we’re dealing with. The problem is that, without ever having been there, most managers can not sympathize (and most do not turn on even).
The folklore that is generally accepted in the IT community says that managers are managers because they can not do anything else. What led us to this state: a climate in which developers do not respect their managers, and managers try to manage a software development team as an accounting department. Much has been written about when and why people are promoted to positions that are not qualified to hold. I will not redo it here. I have a different opinion about it.
The question that we should not be “Why managers do not understand software development?” But “Why did those understand the process does not reach the management?”. The obvious answer is that there are very few developers who want to be managers.
In the past, developers had to deny promotions to management (and sometimes increases) so they could remain in development. Currently, they find other places to work that will pay more and will continue to develop (but that’s a story for another day). The problem worsens. The more developers avoid management positions, most unfortunate the software development teams will stay with the candidates who become its managers.
We, the IT community, we have the employers we have because we refuse to to step forward and take the job. I am not advocating that all developers climb the ladder management; far from it. In most cases, a developer forced to be a manager will not do a better job than a forced counter to make codes. But even the development community learn how to train their own management structure, we are doomed to be managed by PHBs.
So now we are all in the same “Carousel hell.” What can we do to get out? At least part of the response is obvious. We, as a community, we have to train our own managers. For me, as a manager, this means that as I interview candidates for development roles, I have to keep my eyes open for potential managers. I need to make sure that I have oriented the same way I was guided. I have to realize that if I do not train new development managers, I am much of the problem of managers who are not development.
For me, as a developer, and all the other developers are reading this, we have to ensure that we educate our managers
We have to teach them concepts such as:.
- The deadlines can not be set outside without the participation of the development team that is being imposed on the deadline.
- Sometimes inspiration just does not come to you, and you can not force it.
- You can not perform most modern IDEs in a hardware crap!
I found that in many cases, they can learn. They want to learn. They are PHBs, because they were never taught not to be. There are some who do not learn or, even worse, will find that you have much to learn about business. If you are under the management of one of these and works in the United States, change jobs! Life is too short and the labor market is very tight to handle zé losers as well.
To correct the current situation, we, as developers, we have to choose one of two options. We can take a stand in our current jobs and educate the management so it does not work to PHBs, or we can find other jobs. But make no mistake about it; ultimately depends on us we correct the problem.
Until next time,
= C =
***
Cal Evans is part of the team of international iMasters columnists. The translation of the article is made by writing iMasters, with permission of the author, and you can follow the article in English on the link: http://blog.calevans.com/2009/01/25/leadership-in-software-development/
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