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amateur vs pro
On Thu, 1 Apr 2010 10:56:44 -0700, "Joel Koltner"
wrote: Software projects by "professionals" are quit all the time -- there's some shockingly low percentage of software projects that are ever actually finished (like, 25%). Even for hardware projects, at least for awhile Tektronix seemed to be quitting upwards of a quarter of all the projects they'd start. Usually a problem of poor specification. You cannot design what is not described. Frequently, success is in the mind of the beholder: "Oh! I forgot to mention you need to....(gestures made here). You know what I mean." In other words, professionalism that fails to rise above rank amateur. My amateur designs are far more complete and robust than professional ones, but they are not commercial. They would take too long the first time (but they always could have been done in the time it had actually taken to get to shipping). Tracy Kidder's "Soul of a New Machine" proved how little so-called professional effort is needed to do a professional job right. I work with a lot of inventors/entrepreneurs whose idea-to-shipping time is measured in the single digits of weeks. 73's Richard Clark, KB7QHC |
#2
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amateur vs pro
On Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:48:37 -0700, Richard Clark
wrote: On Thu, 1 Apr 2010 10:56:44 -0700, "Joel Koltner" wrote: Software projects by "professionals" are quit all the time -- there's some shockingly low percentage of software projects that are ever actually finished (like, 25%). Even for hardware projects, at least for awhile Tektronix seemed to be quitting upwards of a quarter of all the projects they'd start. Pulling the plug on an IT project is not necessarily a bad thing. A project I've been working on has changed functional scope four times in the last nine months. Is it any wonder the project is six months late? WHOOSH - the sound of a deadline flying by. Business owners and project managers are reluctant to make any admission of poor decision making. Being able to say the project is 'done' is how too many measure success. User adoption and satisfaction always seems to be secondary. Arbitrary due dates are determined before any real analysis of the problem and potential solutions is made. Requirements fall by the wayside as EOQ or the day after Thanksgiving approaches. Project managers, especially the non-technical, often fail to manage their own unrealistic expectations. Over-promised and under-delivered is an unfortunate fact of life. Usually a problem of poor specification. You cannot design what is not described. Frequently, success is in the mind of the beholder: "Oh! I forgot to mention you need to....(gestures made here). You know what I mean." Absolutely. Deliver exactly what the customer asked for and then they'll tell you what's missing. And again and again .... For web applications it's not unusual to be given a 'design' of what it should look like (image only, no mark-up) and a contradictory list of commingled business rules, requirements. features and functionality. In other words, professionalism that fails to rise above rank amateur. My amateur designs are far more complete and robust than professional ones, but they are not commercial. They would take too long the first time (but they always could have been done in the time it had actually taken to get to shipping). We always do throw-away proof of concepts to test and better understand both design and functionality. Essentially the project gets written twice. Producing a proper deliverable is much easier if you've done 'it' before. Too many people consider the investment in any code as being too valuable to be discarded. That's just plain wrong. A maintainable and extensible design is of the utmost importance. Tracy Kidder's "Soul of a New Machine" proved how little so-called professional effort is needed to do a professional job right. I work with a lot of inventors/entrepreneurs whose idea-to-shipping time is measured in the single digits of weeks. Much depends upon the complexity of the problem, management's understanding of possible solutions, and the skillsets, abilities & dedication of the individuals involved. In DG's case a knowledgeable project manager was working with a team of not just any recent engineering graduates. Most of these were hired specifically for the project. For all the successes in some respects the project can be considered a failure. Very seldom does a business owner or project manager ask "what's the best way to ..." because in their mind they already have determined what the only solution is. IT should be treated as vested peers rather than day laborers. |
#3
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amateur vs pro
On Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:48:37 -0700, Richard Clark
wrote: On Thu, 1 Apr 2010 10:56:44 -0700, "Joel Koltner" wrote: Software projects by "professionals" are quit all the time -- there's some shockingly low percentage of software projects that are ever actually finished (like, 25%). Even for hardware projects, at least for awhile Tektronix seemed to be quitting upwards of a quarter of all the projects they'd start. Usually a problem of poor specification. That is why we have "project Charters" The "Charter" describes the project goals and how to determine when those goals have been met. Any change in goals, or how to determine they have been met means going back and rewriting the charter and then having all involved reauthorized it. My standard replay when some one asked if we could do something with a project was "is it in the charter?". If not they had the option of getting the heads of all the involved departments and often "sites" to review the project charger. That usually minimized attempts to expand projects beyond their original design. It also give all involved the desire to put everything on the table at the beginning. :-)) You cannot design what is not described. Frequently, success is in the mind of the beholder: "Oh! I forgot to mention you need to....(gestures made here). You know what I mean." Yup, "did you include it in the charter?":-)) In other words, professionalism that fails to rise above rank amateur. I really don't see it in that light. To me there is no higher rank than amateur. A professional can just be a "grunt", or they can be some one with goals, or rather "goal oriented". 73 Roger (K8RI) My amateur designs are far more complete and robust than professional ones, but they are not commercial. They would take too long the first time (but they always could have been done in the time it had actually taken to get to shipping). Tracy Kidder's "Soul of a New Machine" proved how little so-called professional effort is needed to do a professional job right. I work with a lot of inventors/entrepreneurs whose idea-to-shipping time is measured in the single digits of weeks. 73's Richard Clark, KB7QHC |
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