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The Friendship That Made Google Huge

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Re: The Friendship That Made Google Huge

#41

Post by skybrian »

tareqak wrote: post #23

After reading this article, I'm surprised that Google doesn't encourage pair programming / developing developer relationships at the level that Jeff and Sanjay have here. One might even argue that the manner in which interviewing and hiring is currently done in the tech industry in general might actively work against building the sorts of relationships where the output is greater than the sum of the inputs. Edit: add…

In a way, Google does encourage it by requiring all code to be reviewed before check in. If you're pair programming, you already have a reviewer and can check in right away. One-person projects can be more frustrating due to the delay.

It doesn't seem to be enough to encourage widespread pair programming, though.

Re: The Friendship That Made Google Huge

#42

Post by skybrian »

lowercased wrote: post #22

“I don’t know why more people don’t do it,” Sanjay said, of programming with a partner. ======= Maybe because most employers won't pay for that. Two people? For one level of output? You'd have to prove yourself a level 11 googler before most places would give you the luxury of working as a long-term pair.

I don't think that's it. It's typical to have a team of programmers working on a large project, and many managers are willing to try things.

However, pair programming does require a lot of commitment to make it work. I've only seen it work on a team where it was an XP project to start with, so everyone hired was already willing to give it a solid try. Your average team isn't self-selected in this way and won't have the same level of enthusiasm for a new management initiative.

Re: The Friendship That Made Google Huge

#43

Post by pk2200 »

jamestimmins wrote: post #29

Anyone know where folks like Peter Norvig and Urs Hölzle fit on the L1-L11 scale? I assumed that all of the early employees/now legends were at the top level, so I was surprised to see the article state otherwise.

I can't remember what Senior VP equates to on the tech ladder, but in terms of his overall impact on the company, Urs is definitely an 11.

Re: The Friendship That Made Google Huge

#44

Post by joshuamorton »

stdplaceholder wrote: post #33
jamestimmins wrote: post #29

Anyone know where folks like Peter Norvig and Urs Hölzle fit on the L1-L11 scale? I assumed that all of the early employees/now legends were at the top level, so I was surprised to see the article state otherwise.

Urs doesn't need a level on the individual contributor scale; he's a Senior Vice President.

Urs however does have one, he's listed as a Google fellow (L10) if you go looking.

As a general comment, to compare, a director is L8 equivalent, and VP L9, (but on the management ladder) although at VP+ it gets tricky because there are subdivisions.

Also worth noting that the management ladder goes up more. But the total number of people who are >L11 is probably <11, so it's not like there's any data on how exactly that's broken up.

Re: The Friendship That Made Google Huge

#45

Post by bertmuthalaly »

I was so delighted by this piece and then I got to the byline - James Somers strikes again!

You might know his writing from “You’re Probably Using the Wrong Dictionary” or his amazing article about New York’s subway system told through the lens of the countdown clock: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/11/why-do...

Highly recommend all his work: http://jsomers.net/

Re: The Friendship That Made Google Huge

#46

Post by NelsonMinar »

lowercased wrote: post #22

“I don’t know why more people don’t do it,” Sanjay said, of programming with a partner. ======= Maybe because most employers won't pay for that. Two people? For one level of output? You'd have to prove yourself a level 11 googler before most places would give you the luxury of working as a long-term pair.

I think from the very beginning it was understood they were producing more than one level of output together.

Re: The Friendship That Made Google Huge

#49

Post by wsxedcrfv »

puzzle wrote: post #21

Holy moly, a mention of Bogdan! He was a legend of his own. Some of the most consequential changes, like elevating your service to higher QoS levels, which something like e.g. Gmail would require, were gated on his approval and his only. Someone made him a SW Easter egg, but the story already on the Internet gets some basic facts wrong.

Do tell! There have got to be a few good ones. He interviewed me for his current company.

Re: The Friendship That Made Google Huge

#50

Post by gowld »

fspacef wrote: post #8

Good stuff. Every sport has great partnerships (Jordon - Pippen, Brady - Gronk) and I always wondered if such a thing would even be possible in SE as I've felt overly self conscious and inefficient while pair programming. Though what really makes this my favorite long read of the year is how it follows their story over the course of Google's rise and the subtle juxtapositions between early Google of "doors across saw…

http://cycle-gap.blogspot.com/2007/09/extreme-pair-programmi...

Extreme Pair Programming - Guy Steele and Richard Stallman

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