Subj : Re: Software Job Market Myths
To   : comp.programming,comp.software-eng
From : Phlip
Date : Tue Jul 05 2005 05:19 pm

shelley wrote:
>
> "One person  - one project mode"  is probably one of the most effective
> techniques for making programmers more effective. My guess is that task
> switching probably wastes more resource than anything else, developers
> and managers, yet seems to be the default for many software people.
>
> With just one project you can *concentrate* on the work in hand.
>
> Hopefully the lean s/w development school will have some impact on
> reducing multi project working.

A team cannot go fast unless anyone could switch off with anyone else, even
if they never do.

The problem you describe is not "switching too much", it is "lack of slack".
When bosses force programmers to work above their capacity, then task
switching becomes very hard.

Programmers should work 7 hours a day, preferrably in pairs, and should not
own code. Individual programmers should own tasks (add this feature to these
modules), and the entire team should count their velocity, in tasks, every
week. And managers must not "game" this velocity, or order the programmers
to artificially increase it.

-- 
  Phlip
  http://www.c2.com/cgi/wiki?ZeekLand

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