"The foundation for a good project is: a competent client who knows the business and has power of decision; a full-stack team that can deal with the work, at all technical levels; and a technical platform that is both dependable and tractable."
Basically any modern project management style focused on people and needs instead of reams of documentation.
I've unfortunately never worked at a place that does this right, but I had the strong impression some really good companies do it right - I was blown away by Guidewire back when I was in the insurance business, for example, they really seemed to do project management right ( see https://www.guidewire.com/blog/best-practices , and stuff like this - https://www.guidewire.com/blog/best-practices/implementation... , Scott Hatland really impressed me as a guy that lived this kind of person-first approach ).
Since it's more of a people and organization thing than a formal "project management style" thing, I don't know if there's one "style" that does this above all - Agile, Scrum, Kanban, can all be twisted by people who don't understand the core concepts.
Unfortunately, in practice, Agile almost always devolves into a cargo cult: perform the ritual of the Standup at the appointed time, etc. and all will be well. Any actual personality management is papered over with appeals to authority.
I think teams that succeed do so despite using Agile (or any other management fad). A cohesive team that communicates well can succeed using Agile, sure, but the process is incidental; they would succeed using most any methodology. Survivorship bias leads people to believe that Agile (or whatever methodology-of-the-week is in play) is causative, when it is actually epiphenomenal.
Agile is hardly ever done properly. It doesn't fix the problem with having middle managers who form master/slave relationships, destroy team morale with bad decisions and credit pinching, or deal with the issue of having engineers who purposefully write bad software to "prove new technologies are not as good as old, tried and tested ones".
Given that set of criteria, I wonder how many good projects there actually are out "in the wold".
I would suspect that a small percentage of all projects undertaken are good, according to these criteria. Yet I can't help but think that, while these good projects might engender an enjoyable experience for all involved in its' development, that it wouldn't necessarily lead to a successful product in the marketplace.
What I'm getting at is I wonder good project, while nice to work on, leads to a good product. I am guessing most products probably didn't arise out of a good project, so from a business standpoint, how much is it worth to worry about attaining all these aspects.
It's very hard lesson to imbibe, as I've recently learned from interactions with people I'd worked closely with. What do you do when being nice only results in the person getting worse? Some people don't respond to kindness. Some take advantage of the fact that they are physically stronger. What do you do in those situations?
Holy shit I can't believe the amount of venom these guys came up with just because some guy wrote a book!
After reading all these war stories from Pieter I'm definitely going to weigh his book on the subject of psychopaths far higher than any controlled experiment psychology BS (those guys can't even reproduce their results most of the time.)
To be sure, but that's the 'no silver bullet' clause. You can compromise and gently escalate, though. Be nice, yet firm. Or be ostensibly nice but with a subtext of consequences ("speak softly and carry a big stick").
Or perhaps the ideals fail and you just need to bare your teeth at them. But return to civility; no reason to senselessly burn bridges. (What if they're just horrible? Then leave. What if you just can't walk away quietly? Well, just try not to burn bridges as a first resort, at least not while you're standing on it ;)
I would add to this that being "nice" doesn't mean to cave or placate others.
To me it means to try not to act out of malice, hurt, or anger towards others, even when they seem to be acting that way towards you.
You can calmly and rationally explain your position, and hold firm, while trying to avoid negative emotions. Easier said than done, but it can be incredibly powerful.
That's a relief! Glad to hear the plan is on hold.
Hey, noted you writing about not being into this "fight this thing" ("neighbor") but curious how this turn of event alters your views. Just purely in the emotional and psychological sense, does this all of a sudden having an extended expected horizon, doesn't [it] seem like future could be anything in the realm of possible. (I apologize if this is too personal.)
Well, I'm steadily losing weight, down to about 65kg now from 76kg when I was diagnosed. I'm finding it harder and harder to eat, and I've steadily increased my painkillers from 10mg to 50mg or more per 12h.
So, clearly, things are not getting better. I'm dying and it is just a matter of what bed I die in, and whether it'll be a vital organ like the liver that gives up first, or euthanasia if the breathing gets too hard, and the pain too much.
What the extended horizon does is let me write a little more in that article (there are still stories to tell) and wonder if maybe it'll be enough for a book.
Weirdly the main emotion I feel is a kind of embarrassment at raising a false alarm that gets so many people worried. Also, happiness of course to still be alive and see my family & friends and chat a little more with people on the Internet :-)
I love books. I'm finishing for the first time the Foundation Series of Isaac Asimov.
You know what's frighten me? When i read him, i kinda connect with him, his beliefs, fears, opinions, view points ... his soul. Problem is: guy is (physically) dead for over a decade. But when i read his books, it's like if he is alive.
I started reading Confessions of a Necromancer and boy! it's amazing. I'm sure, deep inside, it's a masterpiece and a way for your mind and soul to survive all difficulties you are facing now.
So you are not dying, indeed, you are probably living more then most of your entire life before. Even if your body is in a bad shape, you true self are getting better and better.
Sorry for saying this like that, but keep up the good job!
There's nothing quite like facing one's imminent dissolution to focus the mind.
Some years back, after watching someone very near and close go through and eventually succumb to a situation similar to yours, I used travel as one of my coping and recovery mechanisms.
Came a point on the trip where I found a very high and sheer promintory. I took the opportunity to consider just what it was that made staying alive worthwhile. Few if any religious or philosophical justifications do much for me.
The Talking Heads lyric, "heaven is a place where nothing ever happens" came to mind. And with it the realisation that there's only one sure-fire way to find out what comes next, and that's to be there for it. Regardless of whether that's good, bad, or indifferent.
I've found the argument convincing to date.
I'm also loving your posts and engagement. I've thanked you for them before, but here it is again: thanks.
That's very profound, and I'm glad I was able to discover these writings just today. I also think that the need or desire of transcendence is what drives us to create great things.
lol, yes, Asimov also writes stuff in the preface like he's 35 and people tell him they thought he was long dead, because even their grandparents read his novels. Which gives the feeling he's still with us.
OT: Is foundation better than pebble in the sky and his short stories? I like his philosphical views, but his science ideas feel real outdated to me.
Asimov's science ideas sound outdated in some cases because they became science fact. For example his 1945 proposal on communications satellites in geosynchronous orbit ... Www.lakdiva.org/Clarke/1945ww as quoted in Wikipedis. First successful satellite launch to Earth orbit was Sputnik in 1957. Stuff Asimov proposed 71 years ago is the basis for Pokemon Go ...
I suspect you've got Clarke and Asimov mixed up there. The article that you linked ( http://lakdiva.org/clarke/1945ww/ ) was written by Arthur C. Clarke.
Clarke was a bit more grounded in the harder science fiction disciplines (Fountains of Paradise with its space elevator) while Asimov tended more to the software side looking at psychology and sociology, empires and the people.
I just wanted to thank you for sharing your experiences! I think you are a great inspiration to me and many others, for when our inevitable moment comes. It occurred to me that we are not really prepared for 'the art of dying' (sorry, for the lack of a better term), it is somehow a large taboo.
Still having fond memories of installing Xitami as a kid :-).
Considering your condition it would obviously have to via oral. A CBD tincture would probably be the best path so you could titrate in more controlled manner. It should help with the pain as well (and keep your mental clarity).
Your writing is delightful, thank you for sharing it with us.
> happiness of course to still be alive and see my family & friends and chat a little more with people on the Internet :-)
:) For what it's worth I wish you the full measure of more comfort and happiness.
So in terms of your legacy, I was wondering a while back regarding the split in ZMQ & the news of your health that do you feel you have achieved your broader goal of establishing governance model driven OSS as the basis for new organizations, taming the beast of ego :) More to the point: do you think ZMQ, as an undertaking, will continue to evolve as intended? (Kinda of like Apple: is Apple really Apple without Steve Jobs, so of Q.)
Thank you for posting that. Talking about the human process and story about how things happen help other people going forward. Understanding how people build things is crucial.
Legacy isn't just for novel writers and building architects and big name visual artists - it's for anyone who creates things.
"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants" Isaac Newton 1676
Every time I see a new post from hintjens I think: "oh, he's still alive!" and I feel a strange mix of happiness (about him being still alive) and sadness (about his very probable demise) at the same time.
Great read. I've only been in the professional software business for a couple of years, but already many of his insights (especially the ones about terrible people management) hit close to home.
Thanks a lot for taking the time to write this down!
> It took me decades to realize that technology is a slave to personality. It doesn't matter how good the design, when there are unresolved problems in the organization.
It's not just that a good technology design needs to fit the needs of the organization; even a design that would be a good fit will be hard to deploy if the organization pushes against it.
Great read. Reminds me of "Coders at work", but more on the business side of things. We all talk about this stuff, but not many people are bold enough to write it all down and stick it on a webpage or in a book.
I'm most impressed by just how much work ends up flushed down the toilet. Makes me feel so much better about all the dead-ends I have been involved with. Actually my sense of the industry is that the majority of projects tank for one reason or another. I guess that's fine if you are just doing it for the money, but if so, then you are probably not a top-level dev.
I just found the book The Psychopath Code thanks this HN post and I am reading it right now on a long bus trip. It brings back a way to much not so old memories.
> Which was when someone decided to bluff the project, sign it for the budget the client was willing to pay, force DEC to accept whatever solution we came up with, and then hire me to make it all work.
This often happens, the previous article didn't get any visibility so people post it again, not realizing. I think the old one is the dupe :-) We need a name for a "dupe that was ahead of its time."
This is intentional, since the previous submission didn't get much attention and is now too old to have a chance. Resubmissions are fine in that case and the software allows it.
Very true.