Given the thoughtful comments on Architects Must Write Code and Testing Design, I’m wondering if some of the difference in our beliefs stem from our perceptions of the architect’s role. I see the architect as the technical lead who shepherds a product through the overall design, someone who explains enough about the system and […]
In Architects Must Write Code, several architects responded that I was too prescriptive (I’m summarizing their comments). Maybe. But I don’t think so. I’m in a nice hotel, where things just don’t work completely right. Yes, the hotel is clean (that’s the big thing with me). The hotel upgraded me to a suite with an
In addition to writing this blog, I also write Hiring Technical People. And, I’ve met a bunch of great recruiting-type people through that blog. One of them, Jim Durbin, has written a great review of Behind Closed Doors. He calls it “a reference manual for technical managers.”
Sometimes, as a manager in a technical organization, you realize you need to change technologies. In my experience, this is a change that takes place over time. So when I’ve used this strategy, I have hired people with expertise in the new technology and who could coach my current staff with their learning. And, I
I received an email recently from an engineer who was considering a job at a non-profit. They offered him a much lower salary than he was expecting, because they were a “non-profit.” Some people are slimeballs, even if they work at non-profits. A non-profit has revenue. A non-profit pays salaries and benefits to its employees.
At the most recent Boston SPIN meeting, I caught up with a fellow I hadn’t seen in a couple of years. He thanked me for the advice I’d given him on a tough project the last time I’d seen him. I had no idea what he was saying, so I asked him what the
Sometimes, technical managers realize their groups aren’t performing all the necessary work, and worse, the people in the group don’t have the background or capability to do the new kind of work. The example I used in the book was that of a test manager who had been hiring testers who had all the same