
If not Scrum, then what? - aard
https://medium.com/@ard_adam/the-nature-of-computer-programming-7526789b3af1
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greenyoda
_" Make your product department be a service organization that provides
feedback and information to programmers but that does not direct or manage
their work. Let programmers make the final calls about what features to
build."_

Unless your programmers spend a lot of time talking with your customers, I
don't think it's practical to let them decide what features should be built.
Certainly they should have the ability to voice their ideas (and have their
ideas taken seriously), but if they don't know what the customer needs, they
shouldn't have the final word. Having been a programmer and a manager of
programmers, I've never met a programmer (including myself) who knows as much
about how my customers use the product as product managers or marketing people
do.

Also, I think your title meant to say "then what", not "than what".

~~~
aard
Thanks for pointing out my typo.

Also, how do you account for the many successful software companies that are
started by just programmers, with no product direction?

~~~
greenyoda
I happen to work for a company that was started by programmers. In the early
days, they had to spend a lot of time doing sales and support, so they were
dealing with customers every day. But as companies grow, people who specialize
in product management and sales get hired, and programmers no longer have much
contact with customers.

But since your article discusses the relationship between programmers and a
"product department", I'm assuming that the company has grown to a point where
programmers have relatively little day to day contact with customers, and thus
they shouldn't be the ones calling the shots when it comes to figuring out
what the customers need.

~~~
aard
Hence, my suggestion that the product department be used to _inform_ the
programmers so they make wise feature decisions. It is not appropriate,
however, for product to be in a management position over engineering.

