Friday, April 30, 2004
Geeks and Road Running
By and large, geeks don’t like Road Runner behavior! Why?
I’ve heard this bleat a few times in recent months, “I’ve been under utilized on this project” - interpretation, “I had slack time”. Hmmm, let me think. Maybe you weren’t the constraint!
The problem with this, I believe, is two fold. Firstly, software developers are used to being the constraint. They work more, software is done earlier. They work better with higher quality, software is done earlier. They work faster, software is done earlier. Secondly, they like bigger batch sizes because it allows them to work on their own without interference from bozo project managers or analysts for longer periods. I called this Intellectual Efficiency. They also like localized due dates for those batch sizes so that they can choose when and how to goof off or work on something else. It’s a freedom - a rite!
Once kicked out of this mold and into a focus on production rate and percentage complete, most developers soon get used to being busy and often like it. Even small batch sizes aren’t too bad. But what happens when there is no immediate work to do - Gee, they realize, “I wasn’t prepared for that. I’m not ready to do anything else. And my friends aren’t free for a game of Foosball!”
I personally hate task switching. My old brain moves slowly from one frame of reference to another. So I’d relish the down time. But I don’t appear to be typical. The answer for geeks unlike me, who seem to be able to switch from one line of thought to another in a heartbeat, and who get immensely frustrated with the slack time in a Road Runner environment, is to give them planned bench projects or bench activities such as a reading or learning program. Bench projects get done when they have a plan and are executed against that plan. The plan doesn’t need to have a schedule but it sure does need a feature list. A manager can also work with an individual to devise a training and self-learning schedule. Slack time can be used for this too. And it starts to pay back very quickly in improved quality and fresh ideas.