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"Any time you have worked long hours, it is a sign of a broken process."

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Re: "Any time you have worked long hours, it is a sign of a broken process."

#51

Post by Androsynth »

My biggest problem with long hours (aside from the long hours themselves), is that like most programmers, I'm not constantly productive for 10 hours a day. It frustrates me that I have to sit in my desk for long periods where I'm unproductive before my muse hits and then I enter hugely productive periods (which often take place outside of normal business hours).

I don't think some m-f, 9-5 union type situation is the proper answer, but theres gotta be a better way. Sitting at my desk when I'm not being productive is a waste of my life.

Re: "Any time you have worked long hours, it is a sign of a broken process."

#52

Post by PakG1 »

mburney wrote: post #5

I'm curious how efficient most coders are even in an 8 hour work day. I find that I can only log about 4 - 5 hours a day (on average) of solid coding time (or marketing/business work). This is because I limit myself to an 8 hour work day, but of course there are breaks and inevitable down time.

Sounds about right. http://www.businessinsider.com/leave-work-early-2011-5

Re: "Any time you have worked long hours, it is a sign of a broken process."

#53

Post by reginaldo »

rokhayakebe wrote: post #17
Hisoka wrote: post #7

It's nice that LinkedIn has a great process: regression testing and the like, but what if you work in an environment where you can't afford to test every single little thing, and where business models, let alone requirements change constantly (ie. a startup)? What if a competitor just launched a feature that will put you out of business if you don't implement the same thing in 48 hours? What if there is a mission-cri…

What if a competitor just launched a feature that will put you out of business if you don't implement the same thing in 48 hours? Even if we stretched the 48 hours to 48 days, I am pretty sure this has never happened.

And if it happened, it was because the company was out of business already...

Re: "Any time you have worked long hours, it is a sign of a broken process."

#54

Post by reginaldo »

rokhayakebe wrote: post #17
Hisoka wrote: post #7

It's nice that LinkedIn has a great process: regression testing and the like, but what if you work in an environment where you can't afford to test every single little thing, and where business models, let alone requirements change constantly (ie. a startup)? What if a competitor just launched a feature that will put you out of business if you don't implement the same thing in 48 hours? What if there is a mission-cri…

What if a competitor just launched a feature that will put you out of business if you don't implement the same thing in 48 hours? Even if we stretched the 48 hours to 48 days, I am pretty sure this has never happened.

And if it happened, it was because the company was out of business already...

Re: "Any time you have worked long hours, it is a sign of a broken process."

#56

Post by KeyBoardG »

Just because LinkedIn was a success does not mean a blanket statement can be made for all. I would have titled it "All too often". Too many outside factors can have an impact. I would use Wordpress for the example of working long hours and also being a success.

Re: "Any time you have worked long hours, it is a sign of a broken process."

#57

Post by Daniel_Newby »

rokhayakebe wrote: post #17
Hisoka wrote: post #7

It's nice that LinkedIn has a great process: regression testing and the like, but what if you work in an environment where you can't afford to test every single little thing, and where business models, let alone requirements change constantly (ie. a startup)? What if a competitor just launched a feature that will put you out of business if you don't implement the same thing in 48 hours? What if there is a mission-cri…

What if a competitor just launched a feature that will put you out of business if you don't implement the same thing in 48 hours? Even if we stretched the 48 hours to 48 days, I am pretty sure this has never happened.

Even if we stretched the 48 hours to 48 days ...

Ah, like the PlayStation Network security debacle.

Re: "Any time you have worked long hours, it is a sign of a broken process."

#59

Post by Cushman »

rhizome wrote: post #40
dave_sullivan wrote: post #9

I know a lot of people who seem to like working long hours. It allows them to think they're getting more done, but I suspect that many of the processes involved could be optimized if they thought about it a bit. For me, I work long hours but it's spread out over the course of a day (so removing breaks/bs it's probably not much more than 40 hours p/wk), and I love what I do, so I do get a lot done (and it feels less l…

At the company I mentioned elsewhere in this thread, the biggest proponents of long hours were a couple of (hourly, natch) contractors who were practicing the most aggravating form of Mortgage-Driven Development I've ever witnessed firsthand. Then salaried people were hounded to work extra hours to keep up with their sh-- code.

This story is better if you read it as the contractors actually made you write the project in sh.

Re: "Any time you have worked long hours, it is a sign of a broken process."

#60

Post by InnocentB »

Daniel_Newby wrote: post #57
rokhayakebe wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if a competitor just launched a feature that will put you out of business if you don't implement the same thing in 48 hours? Even if we stretched the 48 hours to 48 days, I am pretty sure this has never happened.

Even if we stretched the 48 hours to 48 days ... Ah, like the PlayStation Network security debacle.

Sounds more like "What if there is a mission-critical bug that has to be fixed by the end of the day or else all your customers will bail out?" to me.
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