Re: Sticking point

"Glen B. Alleman <[email protected]>" <[email protected]>
Newsgroups gmane.comp.programming.extreme-customering
Message-ID <[email protected]>
> Personally, this is the kind of attitude that turns me off to 
trying 
> to communicate to individuals in these positions of authority.  Not 
> only do they appear to dismiss the messenger, they sure seem to 
> dismiss the message as well.  

It may be the case, but it's reality. Trying to change reality by 
brute force is very slow process. Much more subtle processes are 
needed. One is to adopt to the resistance, become part of the 
process, work from the inside out. Frontal attack usually results in 
lots of casulities.

>They are so fixated on the personality, 
> the letters following, or precceding, someone's name, etc., etc, 
they 
> cannot evaluate what is being said.  Do your homework!  

Personality is all we have to judge by. If I'm interviewing two 
developers. One with a frontal assualt to the current 
conditions, "you're all stupid of youi don't XP," (this a carton 
now), one with "I'll work to improve using the tools I'vebeen given." 
I'll pick the in-assultive person every time. This may not fit your 
ideal, but hey I'm the hiring manager.

>It is your 
> core business, you should understand how it works!  (Now it could 
be 
> argured that software development is not the core business of a 
> company...then I guess it would be fair to say not doing your 
> homework would be ok) 

Software is not our core, but it's a mistake to assume the managers 
understand the business. I've met very few here who understand much 
outside their assigned domain. This is a problem, but there simply 
not enough hours in the day to do it right (I spent 11 hours today 
just hanging on to the end of the rope).

It's be nice of managers were somehow "smarter" than others, but it 
doesn;t seem to be that way. And the managers job is NOT to know the 
developers job otherwise she'd be a developer not a manager of 
developers.
> 
> It is my opinion that maybe you and your colleagues spend way too 
> much time trying to look at "the numbers", you miss making real 
> decisions that have actual consequences to the output you are 
trying 
> to achieve?  

My job is to look at numbers. $11 billion of them. If I wasn;t 
looking at the number who would, the develpers - their working on 
software. They need to get paid every week, we need to get product 
out the site, get work funding, give presentations to the owners of 
the money and project -- all numbers.

My job is to keep the developers (actually my job is keep the 
managers who keep the develoeprs) moving forward. Our project has a 
fixed schedule and a fixed budget. One day lost can not be made up.

So I don't spend too much time looking at the numbers, I am the 
numbers person for IT, it's my profession.

>I feel these people are so far removed from the actual 
> work of the organization, they cannot make any real decisions that 
> impact how, what or why things are done.  

>From this perspective, all 
> it appears that is going on is imaginary money is being moved 
around 
> for someone else's benefit BESIDES the actual people doing the 
> work.   

It may be imaginary other places, but it's all real money here I'm 
afraid.

So it sound like a situational problem that the folsk doing the work 
aren't being rewarded.

> How much agile can high ceremony organizations handle?  

Lot's 

> From the 
> conversations here, I get the impression that there is really not 
> much.  As Ron so nicely stated, XP is about balance.  

Maybe

Glen


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