
Developers don't need ping-pong tables - eduardsi
https://sizovs.net/2020/03/26/developers-dont-need-ping-pong-tables/
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tomatotomato37
It's interesting how quickly the author trivializes competitive pay as a
motivation for attracting developers over vague management practices that
matter more for employee retention than actually attracting them. I'm gonna go
out on a limb and say that pay wasn't as competitive as the hiring manager
would like to believe.

Also pair programming contrasts directly with the promotion of autonomy

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davidsergey
I couldn't agree more, i shifter from software engineering to software
architecture exactly to pursue autonomy.

I was so tired completing user stories that I knew will be either too
expensive to maintain or plain useless that decided to climb up towards the
source, and help people set up requirements and measurements loops.

So yeah, why do people hire software engineers who are extremely good at
analytical thinking, and then try pre-digest every bit of requirement?

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vp8989
Because when you don't, at least ~50% will complain that the ticket isn't well
specced enough.

For every person who wants autonomy there is another who would rather be on
auto-pilot, mindlessly coding up arbitrary ticket JIRA-1234 with a Twitch
window open on their 2nd screen.

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fbi-director
From the article, which I find to be a nice read, this part particularly rings
true to me:

"Pick team leaders wisely. A team leader is not an average developer with
secretary duties no one else wants to carry out. A team leader is an inspiring
master craftsperson; the role model; a person other teammates aspire to
become. A team leader promotes technical excellence, spreads optimism, mentors
people, and gives away the most interesting tasks to others."

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dchyrdvh
I like these attempts to build a useful model of software companies, but this
particular attempt is quite mediocre. The best attempt I've seen was the
Gervaus Principle book. The colorful chairs and ping pong tables are there to
distract the employees, to turn the workplace into a kindergarten. Once you
remove all that, employees will grow up and become even more expensive.

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rurban
I do. But in my sports club, where I'm training 4 days a week. I play in a
league competitively. In the office playing ping pong is not interesting at
all.

At work I'd rather prefer a pool. In the US I used to work after office hours
poolside.

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Poiesis
I'll add to this: for me, the office game was (eventually, after many years) a
gateway into more serious playing at the club.

Yeah, I'm now a better player than most at work, but I wouldn't say work games
aren't interesting to me. I have _so many_ fundamentals to work on! It can be
a challenge for me to even consistently hit a ball back in a way that a novice
can continue the rally (especially when dealing with a trickier shot).

I definitely think the higher level games are crucial for success, too; I just
find that I get some value out of almost any game (if I look for it).

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phanindra_veera
what we need are pool tables.

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emrewtc
Well on point, great read!

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JakeAl
The part about how companies destroy autonomy demonstrates a lack of
understanding of one's place. What they are describing is what people expect
in a leadership position, not an individual contributor position. Expecting
the construction worker to have the autonomy to decide the design of the house
is simply moronic. That's the difference between being a developer and being
the product owner. Granted, the product owner needs to know what they are
doing, which is the actual problem they are not identifying in this article.
It's all about leadership, and people starting as individual contributors who
first learn to lead themselves and their egos, growing in their role through
the five levels of leadership, being mentored and becoming a mentor before
becoming someone with the power and authority to be a product owner. Know it
all developers haven't mastered level 1 yet, let alone their egos. They are
simply the kid who wants to horde all the toys and haven't learn to respect
the toy owners let alone that the toys aren't theirs.

