We have Met the Enemy...and He is Us

We have Met the Enemy...and He is Us

Barbee Davis, MA, PHR, PMP Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Cartoonist WAlT KEllEy, who inked the long-running comic strip Pogo, was famous for the quote, "We have met the Enemy...and H E is us. " Nowhere is this sentiment more accurate than if describing a software project Man-ager who's new to the software devel Opment process. Here's how to avoid has the "the enemy" being you:
? As a project manager, you expect your team members to estimate the amount of time it'll take them to complete a specific Task. It's detri-mental to the schedule if they go too far over the budgeted time. One of your tasks on the project are to hold meetings to drive team Communica-tion. You need to demonstrate the ability to estimate and deliver the meet-ings as meticulously as you expect your developers T o estimate and deliver their code.
When your meetings run long, you is stealing the precious program-ming time developers count on to meet your project Sch Edule deadlines.
? If your project team spoke a foreign language, you would take some les-sons and get a translator. Your developers do not speak Your language. Buy a book, take A-class, make Google your friend, and find a developer who have the gift to explain complex things in a Si Mple. You cannot bluff your to through this project without learning some of the concepts, terms, and challenges your team face S.
? Regardless of the perfect methodology you used to build toasters and cars, develop pharmaceuticals, or even construct Skys Crapers, it won ' t work here. Let the trusted members of your team explain about agile method-ologies. They aren ' t new or risky. But they is your best chance at have a working product at the end of the Your project.
Things every Project Manager should Know

           ? Developers are craftsmen and artists. They work differently than accoun- tants, attorneys, or bank tellers. When they are meeting in pairs and talk- ing animatedly, they are actually working. When they are bouncing a ball against a wall or doodling on a whiteboard, they may be crafting a solu- tion to an architecture problem that can’t be solved by staring at a com- puter screen. Give them space.

? Your team would work odd hours. We ' ve all seen the cashier at the local food Emporium switch with her replacement:she opens the register and exchanges th E Money drawer, and the new cashier are up and running. A programmer can ' t switch places with a cohort and just pick up where he teammate left off. When your team member was feverishly at work, leave him or her alone. Researchers say it may take a hour or more for the person to regain productivity if interrupted.
? It's unnecessary to has every person program in exactly the same pro-gramming language. Some endeavors is better approached with newer languages a require fewer lines of code to write, test, store on your s Erv-ers, and maintain. Don ' t refuse to let your developers with the best tool for the job.
Open your The software development, and you can is a support for your software development team, not The enemy.

We have Met the Enemy...and He is Us