151–160 of 179 posts
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This assumes people don't communicate when they get blocked, but wait 24hs to announce it in a meeting.
Yes, exactly. A lot of people don't do a good job communicating this sort of thing. It helps to have someone else ask you what's blocking your progress.
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Standups to me are just a way to ensure everyone is awake. And able to answer a simple question and make a sentence. I don’t exactly care about the contents, except from time to time when it makes us notice that a colleague is on a wrong track.
They have real value in building team: We are all standing around in a circle; our alignment means something. They're also one of my easiest ways to include remote workers- they always go first. (the phone is part of the circle)
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Engineering manager here. I think a lot of people miss the point of standup, or abuse it to somehow micromanage engineers. Standup is for the team, not the manager or PM. It serves multiple functions, but the most important is the last bit: "are you blocked by something?". Most of the time, someone else on the team knows how to unblock you. Other times, your manager is better positioned to get you what you need than…
The comments in relation to the view of process and management from the general HN audience makes me feel for the challenges of being an effective engineering manager.
My most effective managers have mostly left me alone, and have genuinely interacted me to learn what motivates me and helps me get my work done most effectively, and then has put me in the best position possible for me to be successful. An effective manager needs to do that, individually, with each member of their team.
Intuitively, I always believed that announcing my plans would sort of put me on the hook for completing them. That if I announced something and later didn't deliver, I'd feel ashamed. Obviously avoiding shame wouldn't be the only thing motivated me, but I figured I could add shame-avoidance to the list of motivations and make things overall stronger.
But this is definitely something to think about, and try to apply to myself.
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Engineering manager here. I think a lot of people miss the point of standup, or abuse it to somehow micromanage engineers. Standup is for the team, not the manager or PM. It serves multiple functions, but the most important is the last bit: "are you blocked by something?". Most of the time, someone else on the team knows how to unblock you. Other times, your manager is better positioned to get you what you need than…
> the most important is the last bit: "are you blocked by something?" If you've waited until the next standup to raise a blocker, you've potentially wasted as much as a day of your time. If I have a blocker that I need unblocked to get my work done, I'll immediately get in touch with the person or team that can help unblock me. If I don't know who that is, or need help coordinating, I'll go to my manager, again, imme…
If you figured that out yesterday then yes, you should absolutely go get help immediately.
Mentioning blockers in standup is about admitting you need help. Lots of developers have trouble figuring out when they're wrapped around the axle.
And it can be a little passive aggressive, but it's also a chance to point out that you've been asking for help and getting nothing. Basically you're warning the master/manager that your story is gonna slip if they don't start managing.
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Yes, exactly. A lot of people don't do a good job communicating this sort of thing. It helps to have someone else ask you what's blocking your progress.
I mean, c'mon. We're not children. We're professional developers. If anyone I worked with waited even a day to raise a blocker on an urgent task, I'd think much less of their abilities.
But sometimes you have to do what you have to do to keep the organization moving forward.
The book "Ego is the Enemy" also explains this effect. (It may have been the origin idea that led me to chase down the research paper in the first place)
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> the most important is the last bit: "are you blocked by something?" If you've waited until the next standup to raise a blocker, you've potentially wasted as much as a day of your time. If I have a blocker that I need unblocked to get my work done, I'll immediately get in touch with the person or team that can help unblock me. If I don't know who that is, or need help coordinating, I'll go to my manager, again, imme…
Yes, and. If you figured that out yesterday then yes, you should absolutely go get help immediately. Mentioning blockers in standup is about admitting you need help. Lots of developers have trouble figuring out when they're wrapped around the axle. And it can be a little passive aggressive, but it's also a chance to point out that you've been asking for help and getting nothing. Basically you're warning the master/ma…
This. But it doesn't have to be accusatory like that. It's a way to have opportunity for feedback without having to be pressed for feedback.
The best manager I ever had was great because he totally trusted his people. Standups were a non-intrusive way to keep the overall pulse and make himself available if he was needed...that way he didn't need to vulture around to make sure he could insert himself if needed.
I'll take planned and well used 5 minutes of direct management over compulsive and nervous micromanaging anyday.
So saying that announcing your plans makes you less motivated to accomplish them I think is too much of a blanket statement.