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Why I No Longer Want to Write Software for Companies That I Don't Own

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Re: Why I No Longer Want to Write Software for Companies That I Don't Own

#41

If you have some ticket system where programmers can just take work, your team is breaking the first rule of Agile. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools. A ticket system is a process. Individuals and interactions come first. Programmers talking to one another and being happy is more important than your task database in agile.

Why does it break the first rule of agile software development?

"That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more."

Re: Why I No Longer Want to Write Software for Companies That I Don't Own

#42
While I agree overall that Agile is not what it is sold as by many, I am troubled some by the way you presented your argument, but not your argument itself I don't think.

As a CTO/Executive, I read from what you wrote: I have a few unhappy engineers but my project is moving faster and more successful. So I'd say ok, I'll work on managing the edge cases.

As an engineer who's worked in waterfall cycles and almost every iterative cycle you can name, and have designed a few; I think what you meant to highlight was that project managers are claiming work as being more complete then in reality (higher velocity) so they get a pat on the back in the short term but wind up with longer term product problems like maintainability and accountability. Ironically, the two things that engineers like and that help bring job satisfaction.

To that I would agree, there has to be a process that is designed around the cadence of the business and the team. And the process must not be fixed or rigid and grow and change as the team does. This is how you keep people around longer. And PM's are there to facilitate not dictate or take credit away from engineers. But PMs also deserve credit where credit is due and shouldn't be looked upon as the enemy in the engineering cycle, which has always kinda existed but seems to be getting worse at many companies.

Re: Why I No Longer Want to Write Software for Companies That I Don't Own

#43

Developers are highly paid because their knowledge is highly leveraged. Someone else is benefiting from your application of knowledge by an order of magnitude of what they're paying you. Why be the cow when you could be the dairyman?

Because dairy farms go under all the time. These days, the well fed happy cows just stroll over to the next field, where there are massages on tap if the stress of eating grass in the sunshine gets to be too much. To put that in non-cow terms, the rewards of just getting straightforward compensation these days are really good. So good it's not obvious that starting your own thing is worth it monetarily.

Of course there is risk in starting your own venture. It’s not a guarantee of success, but the upside is exponentially greater.

Chasing (relative) peanuts is still a better call for most.

Re: Why I No Longer Want to Write Software for Companies That I Don't Own

#44

I joined a new project recently after working in a mostly relaxed agile environment for most of my career. I would describe my current project as "Agile at all costs". No testing, no requirements, just go. Just do. I have to say it's created an environment where almost every developer is super unhappy and ultimately producing a sub-par product. I want to go back to just doing good work. Obviously focusing on what the…

Agile, by all means I've used it, _requires_ testing to be first and foremost.

Re: Why I No Longer Want to Write Software for Companies That I Don't Own

#45
Satisfaction on our team is by releasing code. The book keeping in ancillary. We operate as a team, and one person (or a pair) might write it, another tests it, and anyone might deploy it.

As for capital A Agile leading to turn over, I'd be interested in seeing the data. Most of what I've read says that employees leave managers.

Re: Why I No Longer Want to Write Software for Companies That I Don't Own

#46
The problem with agile (in my mind) is it codifies some very bad practices.

One, working your developers to death. In every agile environment I've worked in, nobody ever took a day or two to plan, do retrospectives after a sprint. It was always, always, "Get back to work." I had one job that did weekly sprints every week.

Two, it transfers the risk of bad management from management to the team. "Look! Anything can be built by planning in two-week stretches! We can change direction anytime!"

Re: Why I No Longer Want to Write Software for Companies That I Don't Own

#47
post #17

So while I totally agree with this, I have some questions: First off, do you think Agile is better than Waterfall? I personally think that it delivers a product faster, but I'm not sure if it actually has a macro improvement on the job process. I think waterfall probably addresses your developer-centric issue of satisfaction better than Agile does. I think we may have thrown away too much with the anti-waterfall hatr…

>First off, do you think Agile is better than Waterfall?

Agile does not mean "not-waterfall." Using the not-waterfall definition when convenient to the conversation is the reason "Agile" is a plague on our line of work.

Re: Why I No Longer Want to Write Software for Companies That I Don't Own

#48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't hang on every word of the agile manifesto. For example you don't have to google too much before you find people having debates over unit testing vs acceptance testing in the name of being "Agile" not giving to much attention to the "over processes and tools" part of the manifesto.

If we are going to critique Agile I think we should first agree what Agile is. Agile is the manifesto, not what some random dudes on the internet say it is.

Agile is not the manifesto, I has really never been. Agile does not have a real definition.

Re: Why I No Longer Want to Write Software for Companies That I Don't Own

#49

> He was shocked when he saw that the task's card has been claimed by another. If this is project management, then where is the planning ? This really has nothing to do with Agile, it has to do with planning which is not absent from Agile. > "I am not getting the satisfaction of completing a thing when working like this." This is a people issue, it's very attitude based. Oh someone took my ticket, my work life is hor…

Don't be a snowflake

Agreed. Be a cog in the machine. Everyone's interchangeable, and you don't get to choose your tasks, peasant.

Re: Why I No Longer Want to Write Software for Companies That I Don't Own

#50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because dairy farms go under all the time. These days, the well fed happy cows just stroll over to the next field, where there are massages on tap if the stress of eating grass in the sunshine gets to be too much. To put that in non-cow terms, the rewards of just getting straightforward compensation these days are really good. So good it's not obvious that starting your own thing is worth it monetarily.

Of course there is risk in starting your own venture. It’s not a guarantee of success, but the upside is exponentially greater. Chasing (relative) peanuts is still a better call for most.

> but the upside is exponentially greater.

See, I don't think most people care if they are millionaires or billionaires. And you can become a millionaire on a software dev salary.

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