Death March ? Indeed…
I recently finished Edward Yourdon’s “Death March”, and felt like commenting on a few of the things that stuck with me.
First, he supposes that most, if not all, software projects are death march projects to varying degrees. I absolutely agree, from the point of view that we still lack comprehensive enough means and processes to adequately measure software projects that would require more than a few days effort to complete. There is still such a large disconnect between the idea and plan, and its execution, that it is extremely difficult to understand most software projects. I personally prefer quick and dirty prototypes to address this, and honestly think that a complete and minimally functional prototype should always be created before any sort of plan or schedule is laid out. Perhaps not by an entire team, but one or more of its senior developers. They can then help management make informed decisions and craft a realistic schedule and working plan. Without a prototype, it’s just guess work by all involved. True, this is not always feasible, but it is viable more often than not.
Second, I took away two new ideas that really stuck, and that I feel are extremely powerful. The first idea is to compensate, or help however possible not only the software team itself, but their friends and family too. Those people sacrifice just as much, and struggle just as much during difficult work schedules and demands as the team. Yourdon even goes so far as to suggest sending flowers, setting up taxi service to/from day care as well as maid services, all to minimize the burden on the entire group involved. In my ten years developing software professionally, during which time I’ve been on my share of death march projects, not once has something like this ever been mentioned let alone considered. Not by my peers, not by management, not by senior management. It’s a step above Google’s tactics of providing as many on site amenities as possible, and has the same goal they do. Remove not only the work related road blocks, but the personal life ones as well and not only will the team be grateful, they will honestly be able to focus more easily on the tasks at hand.
The last thing I feel like commenting on is another interesting management tactic with loads of potential. Say you’re on a six month project, on which you’re expected to put in 18+ hour days, or more. How would you respond if you were offered 6 months off (paid) afterward ? Or perhaps offered 6 months to work on any arbitrary project, even your own, following the completion of the current death march ? Not only is this an amazingly interesting tactic in practice, but it is an equally valuable question to ask of any prospective leader for which you will work. Offering these kinds of rewards is fair and immeasurably valuable. Similarly, the response one would get when asking if such a thing would be possible is priceless in and of itself. You would immediately know all you need to about your leaders by the way they respond.
The book was decent, and was a quick enough read that I think it is valuable for any software developer/PM/mgr. I found the inclusion of email conversations a bit distracting, but otherwise enjoyed the book and recommend it.