Latha Karri EECS 811 April 28th, 2009

Latha Karri EECS 811

April 28th, 2009

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Introduction

The Atlantic Systems Guild Inc. Members are authors, consultants and lecturers Principal members contribute to IEEE, Cutter IT Journal and

the Journal of Object Oriented Programming

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Timothy Lister Holds an A.B. from Brown University Member of the ACM and a Fellow of the IEEE Fellow of the Cutter Business Technology

Council Frequent keynoter at Cutter Summits Wrote books: Peopleware, Waltzing with

Bears, Adrenaline Junkies and Template Zombies

Along with Tom DeMarco wrote: “Performance in Organizations,” and “Litigation of Software-Intensive Projects”

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Tom DeMarco

B.S.E.E. degree from Cornell University, an M.S. from Columbia University and a diploma from the University of Paris at the Sorbonne

Consulted throughout America, Europe, Africa, Australia and the far East

Member of the ACM and a Fellow of the IEEE Recipient of the Warnier Prize for “lifetime

contribution to the field of computing” in 1986 and recipient of the Stevens Award for “contribution to the methods of software development” in 1999

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Tom DeMarco [continued]

Wrote books: Structured Analysis and System Specification, Controlling Software Projects, Peopleware, The Deadline, Slack, Getting Past Burnout, Busywork, and the Myth of Total Efficiency, Waltzing with Bears, and Adrenaline Junkies and Template Zombies

Wrote various articles: “Requirements Engineering,” “On Death March Projects,” “Systems Architecture,” “Professionalism in Software Engineering,” “Certification of Software Engineers”

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Introduction Book consists of six parts:

“Managing the human resource” “The office environment” “The right people” “Growing productive teams” “It is supposed to be fun to work here” “Son of peopleware”

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Presentation Topics

Managing People Managing Thinking Workers Quality – If Time Permits

Office Environment Hiring Right People Growing Productive Teams

Jelled Teams Teamicide Chemistry for Team Formation

Motivating People Quiz

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Presentation Topics

Managing People Managing Thinking Workers Quality – If Time Permits

Office Environment Hiring Right People Growing Productive Teams

Jelled Teams Teamicide Chemistry for Team Formation

Motivating People Quiz

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Managing People – Survey Results Survey results from 500 projects:

15% of the projects were cancelled, postponed or delivered something that was never used

25% of the projects failed to complete No technological issue was found to explain the failure

The reason for the failure: Politics

The term “Politics” is often loosely used to mean people related problems or social problems

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Managing People Both Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister say that:

The major problems of our work are not so much technological as sociological in nature

Why do managers manage as though technology were their principal concern? Because it is easy

Other reasons: Little management experience Schooled in how the job is done rather than how to manage

the job

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Managing Thinking Workers Quota for errors:

Making occasional mistakes is natural and healthy People get defensive when they are not allowed to

make mistakes Creativity will not sustain when there is no room for

mistakes

The Bozo definition of the management: “Management is a kicking ass” Kicking can make people active but not creative,

thoughtful and inventive Most importantly, it gives short term benefits but

not long term

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Managing Thinking Workers [continued]

The people store \ uniqueness: Managers are most of the time threatened by

uniqueness Uniqueness is vital and effective to project

chemistry Uniqueness needs to be cultivated

A project in a steady state is dead: Someone who can help a project to jell is worth two

people People’s values are often assessed based on the

steady state characteristics

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Managing Thinking Workers [continued]

No time to think about this job, only to do it: Single mindedly oriented towards doing something Often, time pressure is used as an excuse for lack of think

time

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Spanish Theory Management There is a fixed amount of value in the earth and the

path to accumulation of the wealth was to learn to extract it more efficiently from the soil or from people's backs This theory is alive whenever managers talk about

productivity Productivity is about extracting more in an hour of pay Managers often bully and cajole their people into working

long hours Managers trick people into accepting unrealistic deadlines

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There Ain’t No Such Thing As Overtime Overtime is valuable only for the last mile Undertime is not visible just like unpaid overtime

Slow down you crazy child,And take the phone off the hook and disappear for a while.It’s all right. You can afford to lose a day or two.When will you realize……Vienna waits for you?

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Management’s Misconceptions Add staff to a late project:

Management fail to realize that adding staff to a late project makes it later

Fear that work expands to fill the available time Set phony deadlines

Put people under time pressure: Management fail to realize that people under time pressure

don’t work better; they just work faster

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Time Pressure Pressure beyond a certain level decreases performance

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Time Pressure Consequences Time pressure leads to:

Decreased quality products Decreased brainstorming Decreased time spent on investigation and research Decreased performance levels Increased stress levels

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Quality – If Time Permits Quality is often tied to self-esteem Quality standards are both external and internal Managers think of quality as another attribute that can be

supplied in varying degrees The notion that “quality – if time permits” assures no

quality at all will sneak into the product

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Flight From Excellence Some markets don’t give a damn about high quality

This is true to a certain extent Industry has accustomed its clients to defect prone software Client's perceived quality needs are not often as great as the builder's

Flight from excellence Allowing the standard of quality to be set by the buyer, rather

than the builder In the long run, market-based quality costs more

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Flight From Excellence [continued]

Quality, far beyond that required by the end user, is a means to higher productivity Consider the following words of Tajima and Matsubara, two of

the most respected commentators on the Japanese phenomenon:

The trade-off between price and quality does not exist in Japan. Rather, the idea that high quality brings on cost reduction is widely accepted

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Quality Interview with President Ray Tanguay - Toyota

Motor Manufacturing, Canada. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v

=YTQtoeP_1oU&feature=related

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Management’s True Role

What is management’s true role? A manager’s function is not to make people work, but to

make it possible for people to work

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Presentation Topics

Managing People Managing Thinking Workers Quality – If Time Permits

Office Environment Hiring Right People Growing Productive Teams

Jelled Teams Teamicide Chemistry for Team Formation

Motivating People Quiz

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Open Office Environment

“You never get anything done around here between 9 and 5”

Proof by repeated assertion : “Open-Plan DP Environment Boosts

Employee Productivity”

The fundamental areas of consideration indesigning an open-plan office within aninformation processing environment are: the system’s electrical distribution capabilities,computer support capabilities and manufacturer and dealer service

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Open Office Environment [continued]

A policy of total default: Failure to address the issue by saying that the solution is

beyond human capability

IBM Survey results for Ideal office configuration: 100 sq.ft. of dedicated space per worker 30 sq.ft. of work surface per worker Noise protection in the form of enclosed offices or six foot

high partitions

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Productivity Factors

Productivity factors were observed by conducting coding war game with 600 developers from 92 companies Top performers were about 10 times faster the worst

performers Top performers were about 2.5 times faster than median

performers Best organizations worked 11.1 times faster than the worst

organization

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Productivity Factors [continued]

Productivity non-factors: Language, years of experience, and salary

Productivity factors: Work space, noise, privacy and interruptions

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Productivity Factors [continued]

Coding war game performance results:

Environment of the Best and Worst Performers In the Coding War Games

Environmental Factors

Those Who Performed in 1st Quartile

Those Who Performed in 4th Quartile

1. How much dedicated work space do you have? 78 sq.ft. 48 sq.ft.

2. Is it acceptably quiet? 57 % yes 29 % yes

3. Is it acceptably private? 62 % yes 19 % yes

4. Can you silence your phone? 52% yes 10 % yes

5. Can you divert your calls? 76 % yes 19 % yes

6. Do people often interrupt you needlessly? 38 % yes 76 % yes

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Brain Time Versus Body Time

Typical developer work mode: Working alone: 30% Working with one other person: 50% Working with two or more people: 20%

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Brain Time Versus Body Time [continued]

Flow: Takes around 15 minutes to enter Time passes without much notice Extremely productive

Environment Factor = uninterrupted hours / body - present hours

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Workspace Patterns

The first pattern: Tailored workspace from a kit The second pattern: Windows The third pattern: Indoor and outdoor space The fourth pattern: Public space

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The Office Environment

Google Zurich office environment: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7290322.stm

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Presentation Topics

Managing People Managing Thinking Workers Quality – If Time Permits Parkinson’s Law The seven Sirens

Office Environment Hiring Right People Growing Productive Teams

Jelled Teams Teamicide Chemistry for Team Formation

Motivating People Quiz

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Hire Right People

Jim Collins: “Good to Great” Get the right people on the bus and the wrong people off

the bus Good-to-great companies built a consistent system …

They hired self-disciplined people who didn’t need to be managed, and then managed the system, not the people

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Hiring Process

While hiring: Portfolios Aptitude test Holding an auditorium Don’t let human resources organization

dominate

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Presentation Topics

Managing People Managing Thinking Workers Quality – If Time Permits

Office Environment Hiring Right People Growing Productive Teams

Jelled Teams Teamicide Chemistry for Team Formation

Motivating People Quiz

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Growing Productive Teams

Typically teams don’t get work done, individuals do

Why do we need to form teams?

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Objectives of Team Formation

Team formation contributes towards: Goal alignment Diversity of skills, knowledge, abilities and experience Positive aspects of group dynamics

e.g. Increased creative flow

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Team Formation Stages

Forming: Team members define goals, roles, and direction of the team

Storming: Team sets rules and decision-making processes, often renegotiates (argues) over team roles and responsibilities

Norming: Procedures, standards, and criteria are agreed upon

Performing: The team begins to function as a system

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Jelled Teams

What is a jelled team? Group of people so closely knit that the whole is greater

than the sum of the parts

Why do we want a jelled team? Once a team jells, the probability of success goes up

dramatically!

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Signs of a Jelled Team

Work is fun Self-motivated Low-turnover Sense of pride High morale Sense of eliteness Sense of identity Joint ownership of the product Loyalty to the team and the team

environment

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Jelled Teams [continued]

Jelled teams are like the neighboring states helping each other

Managers are usually not part of the teams

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Teamicide Defensive management - not trusting the team Bureaucracy - too much paperwork Physical separation of team members Fragmentation of people’s time – assign multiple

projects Quality reduction of the product Phony deadlines Clique control - splitting up teams

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Teamicide [continued]

Most organizations don’t set out consciously to kill teams … they just act that way

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Chemistry Building Strategy Make a cult of quality Provide lots of satisfying closure Build a sense of eliteness Allow and encourage heterogeneity Preserve and protect the successful

teams Provide strategic but not tactical

direction

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Presentation Topics

Managing People Managing Thinking Workers Quality – If Time Permits

Office Environment Hiring Right People Growing Productive Teams

Jelled Teams Teamicide Chemistry for Team Formation

Motivating People Quiz

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Motivating People Salary Performance reviews Job rotation Training Miscellaneous ideas

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Motivating People - Salary A 10% salary increase Stock options and other long-term benefits

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Motivating People - Performance Reviews

Performance reviews are generally useful, if handled objectively

Performance reviews are often spaced too far apart New approach: “360” day reviews to assess employee’s

interactions with peers, customers, everyone around him/her

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Motivating People - Rotation

Eliminates unique roles where one person is a sole living expert

Works fine if turnover rate is low

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Motivating People - Training

Offer training 1-2 days/year Best organizations offer 5-10 days/year Customize training to the real needs of the

job Suggestions:

Accrue education days Give software professionals their own individual

“training budgets” at the beginning of each year, and let them decide how, when, and where it will be spent.

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Motivating People – Creative Ways

Pilot projects War games Brainstorming sessions Trips, conferences, and retreats Study groups: Weekly meetings of

60-90 minutes to discuss technology issues

Tuition reimbursement plans

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Presentation Topics

Managing People Managing Thinking Workers Quality – If Time Permits

Office Environment Hiring Right People Growing Productive Teams

Jelled Teams Teamicide Chemistry for Team Formation

Motivating People Quiz

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Quiz – True \ False

Adding staff to a late project, only makes it later - A jelled team is a group of people who are closely knit

that the whole is greater than sum of the parts - One of the characteristic features of jelled teams is low

morale - One of the goals for team formation is to achieve goal

alignment -

true

true

true

false

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Quiz – True \ False [continued]

Forming, storming, norming and performing are the four stages of team formation -

One of the best ways to motivate people is to provide training sessions -

Defensive management is an example of teamicide - People under time pressure don’t work better; they just

work faster -

true

true

true

true

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Conclusion

Managing people Manager’s role should be to make it possible for people to work

Quality if time permits Management should incorporate quality in every phase of delivery

Office environment Management should ensure that the work environment is

conducive enough to focus while working

Hiring right people Management should ensure that the right people are hired through

proper interview methods

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Conclusion [continued]

Growing productive teams Management should preserve and protect jelled teams Management should avoid teamicide

Motivating people Management should take creative steps to keep people motivated

and a few things to consider are: Provide “360” day performance reviews Increase the pay scale and give promotions Encourage fun filled trips, retreats and conferences Provide training Provide job rotation

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References

http://www.techpresentations.com/2007/01/08/the-return-of-peopleware/

http://www.yourdon.com/downloads/Peopleware2008.pdf http://www.internetnews.com/xSP/article.php/905991 http://www.mindtools.com/stress/UnderstandStress/

StressPerformance.htm http://www.stthomas.edu/ethicalleadership/pdfs/Getting

%20the%20Right%20Pe.pdf http://users.csc.calpoly.edu/~djanzen/courses/405W09/

presentations/Peopleware.pdf

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References [continued]

http://www.systemsguild.com/GuildSite/TRL/Tim_Lister.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNAJ5QnAV0Y http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7290322.stm http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=YTQtoeP_1oU&feature=related

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