- Ryanair's New Emergency Instructions Could Be Real One Day – Funny. Though we probably shouldn't give them ideas.
- Liberal Democrats – Freedom Bill 2009 – I didn't hear about this first time around, but it sounds like a good idea. As one of the commenters noted, even if it doesn't go anywhere it might make the Government justify why these laws are needed when there are perfectly good, less draconian one already in place.
- Among the Inept, Researchers Discover, Ignorance Is Bliss – "People who do things badly … are usually supremely confident of their abilities — more confident, in fact, than people who do things well." I can't actually remember how I stumbled across this link any more, but it makes fascinating reading. Does kind of make you a little paranoid, though.
- 10 Geeky Tricks for Getting Out of Bed in the Morning – I should probably read this more closely when I'm properly awake. I'm getting worse and worse at getting up in the morning…
Tag Archives: research
Right Nation
I was amused when, while working in North Carolina in 2003, I visited some friends for Thanksgiving. All their neighbours introduced themselves and then, on finding I was English, apologised. “It’s not our fault, we didn’t vote for him!” Stood amongst those liberal, well travelled and smart people it was difficult to reconcile this with the fact that they lived in a country that had a president that was none of those things.
It’s bizarre. Virtually every American I’ve met has disliked Dubya, yet over the whole country, despite a number of obvious set-backs, his popularity has rarely been in question. Why such a contradiction? How did it get like that and how soon will the US be returning to normal?
I decided to read “Right Nation” by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge to find out.
It is split into four sections, starting with the history, then the anatomy (the various parts that make up the American Right), then prophecy (what comes next) and finally exception (what makes America different). It drills down into each area in detail, exploring their main ideas from any number of different angles.
For those that are looking for Dubya-bashing, this is not the book for them. In fact, if anything, he has gone up in my estimation after reading it. Not to say that he comes out smelling of roses. In fact the main villain of the piece turns out to be John Ashcroft, not necessarily because he did the worst things (although the PATRIOT Act takes some beating) but because, given the power, he ended up doing the exact opposite of what he professed to support.
I can’t say that I necessarily agreed with everything in the book, but I would say that was to its credit. The authors proudly claim that they have been accused of being sympathisers of both sides of the debate, which just goes to show how even handed they’ve been. The main criticism that I would level is that it was very dry and academic in tone. The langage is precise and functional, the structure shows detailed research and clear thinking. Maybe it’s just in the nature of a non-fiction tome like it and, while not entirely off-putting, didn’t make it a page-turner. I also found some US-centric terms not defined anywhere, or maybe they’re defined once but are just well hidden. For example, I thought you bought jeans at The GOP until I looked it up and realised my mistake.
But back to our original questions — why and how much longer do we have to put up with Bush and his cronies? Does the book answer those questions? For the most part, yes. You may not agree with (or like) the conclusion, but it does give some serious food for thought and is well worth a read.
Death March
Introduction
Perhaps more than any other engineering discipline (see Steve McConnell’s After The Gold Rush), software engineers work on projects that have no real chance of success. There are as many reasons why as there are projects, but if you want to be in with a chance of surviving such a ‘death march’ this could be the book for you.
Content
Edward Yourdon is a well known and well respected computer scientist, so what useful information can he give you in these circumstances? Surely you’re lumbered with the simple choice between putting up with it or resigning?
Well, no. The book explains that there are any number of things to do, and not just for the project stake-holders. There are things that just about anyone on the project — and indeed just outside the project — can do. And quitting is almost always one of the options he gives. I find this interesting because most books tend to argue that you can fix anything. Sometimes you just don’t have the authority to do anything that would make a significant enough change.
Of course, it’s a two-hundred page book, so it doesn’t just launch into this resign-or-fix discussion. First he talks about what a Death March project actually is, and then moves on to finding who the key players in the project are. These people are not always those that you think should be in charge! For example, the CEO’s golfing partner is often in a position of power and influence, although you won’t find them in the organisation chart. (I’ve seen these kind of dynamics in play, but I hadn’t really though about it in these terms.)
He then moves on to negotiating the best deal for you and your team in this bad situation. You may not be able to get your boss to accept a rational argument at the beginning (or even towards the end) of the project, but you should at least try. And these are the arguments to use!
Motivation, both from the various clients and in your own team, play an important role in the success or otherwise of the project, and are discussed in some detail. One vaguely controversial statement is that we all need to be involved in politics to some extent. I agree with the ‘why’ — even your boss may secretly want your project to fail — but I don’t know how. Many, maybe most, of the developers I know have absolutely no interest in politics and try to pretend that it doesn’t affect them!
The next two chapters talk about methodologies and tools, and their applicability to death march projects. The last chapter discusses integrating the death march into your companies culture (most of your projects are going to be like that anyway, so you may as well get used to it!).
Controvacy!
It’s not all good news, though. Some of the chapter on staff motivation is hard going (or at least would be for the people on your project). One of Yourdon’s correspondents suggests that, on a death march project, people should be putting in at least 60 hours a week! I know that some people do that, and that it is encouraged at some companies, but I really don’t think that people should be encouraged to do that on a regular basis. It’s only fair to say that Yourdon goes on to say that people working over 60 hours a week need to be watched closely, but by then the damage may already have been done.
Generally, however, the advice given is very pragmatic. I’d like to think that most of it was obvious, but it isn’t. This is the kind of information you probably realise only after years in the business.
Overall
I’m sure you can guess by now: I’m impressed. Most Computer Science books are not this sensible and are frequently based in research in university labs rather than commerce. In fact, I’m pretty certain that I’ve never seen a book that recommends that you resign in certain circumstances!
It’s not just the detail that makes this an important book. Yourdon backs up his assertions with examples and email’s from colleagues that discuss some of the options available.
If you work in IT, sooner or later you will end up working on a Death-March project. This book is just what you need to be able to tell what chance of success it has and whether you and your organisation will survive it. Highly recommended.
Details
ISBN: 0-13-014659-5
Price: $16.99
Buy this book from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.