“I participate in this system, so I’m complicit in it.” All the cruelty, the racism, the poverty, the abuse of power in US capitalist patriarchy–this is my fault too? The guilt can crush us. TL;DR: no, it isn’t our fault. It is ours to do something about, while participating. Participate in the system to fill … Read moreParticipation without complicity
We’re talking here about “feedback” as commentary from people you work with, telling you what you could do better—in particular, 360° Feedback as part of a performance review. I’ve capitalized “Feedback” in this post in reference to this particular use of the word. The benefits of Feedback are purely mythological. Carol Sanford, No More Feedback … Read moreNo More Feedback (book summary)
We talk about “software products” and “product teams.” What does this even mean, “product?” It is not the definition I learned in school. Economics 101: the output of the economy is “goods and services.” Goods, also called “products,” are physical items that you can buy, take home, and have. Like, if you buy a rug, … Read moreWhat is this “product” you speak of?
Just now, Avdi had a miserable experience buying curtains. He went to pick up an order that he placed last night, but Lowe’s didn’t have it. The order was sent to the wrong store and it was a huge pain to figure out. Software is hard to get right. And every time we don’t, customers … Read morethe Enterprise eats Software
Functional stupidity is: don’t self-reflect, don’t ask why, and only think about what we ask you to think about. This can be good in corporate-land. It is a disaster for software.
Meet my friend Sean. Sean is one of the most powerful developers I know. Not best, not brilliantest, but most powerful because: he provides more business value than some 50-person teams. What is the job title of such a powerful developer? It isn’t “ninja” (although maybe it should be). It’s “Accounting Manager.” WAT. Program: runs … Read moreThe power of embedded developers
TL;DR – Support decisions with automation and information; give people breadth of responsibility; let them learn from the results of their choices. When I started writing software in 1999, The software development cycle was divided into stages, ruled over by project management. Business people decided what to build to support the customers. Developers coded it. … Read moreStacking responsibilities