A Question…
Heres a question : imagine you are a team manager, and every day you observe your team from afar. You notice that you can always rely on your team working hard at their computers; everybody is always sat around a computer coding.
Is this good?
January 16th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
Are you sure they’re coding? Have you reviewed the code?
What else are the team doing? A little verbal communication might be a good idea…
January 17th, 2007 at 11:39 am
Hi Neil,
So my main thing I was thinking about is what you touch in your last statement. Software engineering != Coding. I would be concerned if in the same work environment I never saw design discussions, people huddled around whiteboards, that type of thing. It wouldnt be immediately negative, but it would concern me nonetheless.
January 17th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
It would also be a positive thing if they were also socializing. That is, making jokes, talking about technical topics other than those that immediately apply to the project, etc. I team that actually likes each other is usually more productive.
January 18th, 2007 at 10:14 am
I agree Sal. One the most productive teams I worked on was one that had a “hoot”. We had conversations with via film samples, played through our computers. Sounds silly, but when you’ve got Clint Eastwood, Homer Simpson and Al Pacino coming at you, it creates a profound working environment…with some great fondness and nostalgia, I look back at those days when we used to play “How will I live with out you” when we had moved to a Green Bar after being in the Red for a long period. And then, when things went wrong, “Lady in Red” would start. Geekish, yeh. Lots of fun, yeh. Positive – damn yeh!
January 18th, 2007 at 11:12 pm
Get back to work!!
Just kidding. A bit of goofing off goes a long way toward relieving stress but also encourages people to get together and talk about the project. Communication goes up, quality & productivity improve, clients stay happy, and everyone gets a pony for their birthday.