
Theory P: The Philosophy of Managing Programmers (*not* a parody) - raganwald
http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/irm-blog/theory-p-the-philosophy-of-managing-programmers-4993
======
balding_n_tired
Somehow it troubles me to see someone calling down programmers who doesn't
know

"charade" from "facade" "verbosity" from -- well, maybe he means verbiage

and whose writing would get a charity C+ at a good high school.

Key observations:

"1. Perhaps more than any other profession, programmers try to impress and
intimidate others with their technical jargon. Such language usually masks
inadequacies elsewhere."

Read some social science texts, my friend; hell, read any literary criticism
dating from about the 1920s on. Jargon has its purpose, and in computing it
serves well.

"2. Be leery of programmers that are pseudo-intellectual. They are probably
hiding something."

If only one knew what "pseudo-intellectual" meant. Is a programmer pseudo-
intellectual if he says "Bryce, your prose--res ipsa loquitur!" Is a blogger
pseudo-intellectual if he calls his ramblings "theory P", or his observations
a philosophy?

~~~
omouse
He should read his own article to see how well business people like to impress
and intimidate others with jargon.

A programmer is pseudo-intellectual if they believe they do not need any
knowledge of mathematics and any knowledge of how to speak and write well in
their native language.

------
arohner
Key Observations:

1\. Managers exhibit an average intelligence level, no greater than any other
professional with a college degree. They exhibit an average imagination.

2\. Perhaps more than any other profession, managers try to impress and
intimidate others with their technical jargon. Such language usually masks
inadequacies elsewhere.

3\. Managers are capable of learning new skills but must demonstrate a
willingness to learn.

4\. Without basic organization and discipline, managers will become mentally
lazy.

See, it's easy to make unsubstantiated, insulting generalizations.

~~~
gaius
But but but he has "managed projects far larger and more complex than you can
imagine, involving multiple languages, various data base structures,
artificial intelligence, and universal applicability"

Data base structures! Universal applicability!

I find it hard to believe this is not a parody...

------
rbranson
While the article is obviously made by a jackass, it's understandable given
the following statement: "In reality there is only a handful of true
programming geniuses in the field who are either independent contractors or
are employed by computer hardware/software firms. There are few, if any, true
programming geniuses in the average corporate shop."

I might agree with that statement.

~~~
arohner
"In reality there is only a handful of true programming geniuses in the field
who _are either independent contractors or are employed by computer
hardware/software firms_. There are few, if any, true programming geniuses _in
the average corporate shop_."

With managers like that, I wonder why. I wonder if they're working on startups
to not deal with people like that.

------
dusklight
lol?

sounds like a non-technical manager who is unable to identify the smart
coders, who uses policies that have consistently chased the smartest coders
away from his department, and who has chosen to blame this on the coders
rather than his poor policies.

~~~
dasil003
I wish I could lol, but the thought of this guy getting paid for spouting this
nonsense really chafes my hide.

For every nugget of truth in this article there is a viscous slathering of
insecurity projected onto what were no doubt highly abused technical teams
systematically subjected to abusive middle management by a blathering idiot.

My secret desire is that deep down Tim Bryce really does realize what an
utterly irredeemable fool he is.

------
arohner
One side-effect I really hope to see from the sprouting of YC and YC-like
firms is a break in this stereotypes of programmers being autistic children
that need handlers.

Though, I suspect it will suffer from selection bias. Any technical founders
that end up making successful companies will be known for starting a company,
and less known for their coding ability. You'll end up with techie founders
who appear "normal" because they're successful, and the "autistic children"
will continue to be employees for managers like this guy.

~~~
omouse
You don't need YC or YC-like firms for that. You just need computing
scientists and computer programmers to act like professionals and dump the
stereotypes themselves.

~~~
arohner
So you're saying they deserve it? Most programmers I've worked with act like
professionals, yet are still treated like children.

It's bad managers that have the stereotype, so programmers continuing to be
professional doesn't fix the problem.

------
F_J_H
In my experience, this is all to often the truth:

"There is also the problem that programmers tend to be somewhat faddish. It is
not uncommon for them to recommend a solution that is technically fashionable,
not necessarily what's practical. An elegant solution to the wrong problem
solves nothing. It is important for programmers to learn to justify their
technical recommendations from a business perspective. Failure to do so will
inevitably result in a costly decision."

~~~
gaius
It's exactly the opposite. Fads are forced on programmers by managers who know
nothing more than they read about them in a vendor sponsored article in "CIO
Monthly" magazine they read at the airport.

~~~
F_J_H
Yes, always and every time, I'm sure! ;-)

------
frankus
It's hard for me to pin down just what it is about this article that sticks in
my caw, because a lot of his points are spot on, either with regard to me or
with regard to people I've worked with in the past.

If this guy were a programmer, talking about what sort of management structure
works for him, it would probably seem thought-provoking, if flawed. We've all
met pseudo-intellectual types in our business, or those that are always
following the latest fad, or those who have decided that they're too old to
learn anything new. In fact most of us (I know I am) are guilty of these sorts
of things ourselves.

But because he's an outsider we're put on the defensive, and the whole thing
comes across as condescending and insulting. It's especially biting because
there's an element of truth to it. We're being judged not as individuals, but
as part of the biased sample of bad apples from dysfunctional organizations
that this guy has dealt with.

This must be what being a victim of prejudice feels like.

EDIT: Now that I think about it, this is how I felt the first time I stumbled
upon <http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/>, until I realized that a) it's a joke
and b) the author is very, very white.

------
radu_floricica
Am I the only one here who mostly agrees with the article? Especially with the
bad parts. I don't have that much experience, but it's already been over 10
years of programming, freelancing and occasional managing, and I find pretty
much everything in this article familiar. From the difference between a
programmer and an analyst, the average intelligence level, to the lazynes and
lack of motivation which are almost a professional disease among programmers.

If I were employed in a corporation I'd actually _like_ my manager to try and
make my work motivating, even though it is fundamentally about "sorting files
and making raports". Ignoring the problem won't make it go away.

edit: I'm not one of the star programmers btw. I had to pass 30 to realize I'm
actually not that bright, and if I want to make something I have to deal with
my lazyness and work and learn.

~~~
sedachv
All the management tips in that article make perfect sense:

"Be leery of programmers that are pseudo-intellectual. They are probably
hiding something."

If you can't explain something clearly and concisely, you either need to
improve your communication skills or really are hiding something
([http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9sfm5/i_am_a_man_in_hi...](http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9sfm5/i_am_a_man_in_his_30s_that_has_lied_and_bullsed/))

"Improve communications within the programming staff by developing a standard
glossary of terms. This will also be useful to outsiders who have to interface
with programmers."

This is the core idea behind Domain-Driven Design.

"Carefully scrutinize technical proposals. Make the programmers justify it
from a business perspective."

ROI ROI ROI

"Adopt standards for documenting programs (e.g., graphics and/or text
detailing the organization and logic of the program)."

Duh.

"Develop standard development practices emphasizing quality and program re-
usability. Demanding precision in development will result in superior
performance."

Duh x 2

"Implement a skills inventory to monitor the talents and proficiencies of the
programming staff. This is used to determine the need for additional training,
as well to select the most suitable individual for a programming assignment."

If only more managers did this!!

"Promote a program of on-going education, such as a training curriculum, the
development of technical library, participation in professional associations,
and technical certification programs."

How can you say the author of the article looks down on programmers? Again,
most coders wish their organization had a program like this.

"Develop security measures to safeguard the company's intellectual property."

This one is agreeable on some level, however that level is CIO and not team
managers.

"Recognize outstanding achievement even for the smallest of jobs."

Ok. You need to recognize people's effort and achievements.

"Manage from the bottom-up. Delegate responsibility and hold people
accountable for their actions. Teach employees to supervise themselves."

Of course, the author really does think programmers are morons! How else can
he recommend something like this?

~~~
gaius
I think the issue most people have with this is the stark management/worker
divide, in which managers are omniscient and a worker's greatest virtue is
obedience.

In a modern organization, I don't feel that my manager is superior to me
(especially not in a traditional class sense). We are two professionals with
broadly equivalent educations and social backgrounds with slightly different
job descriptions, I do more code, he does more meetings. His job is not to
_tell_ me what to do, it's to handle the planning and logistics of us jointly
working towards the organization's goal, just as mine is to handle the
technical and operational side.

And I don't feel subservient to the company either. We are two economic
entities collaborating for mutual benefit. If either us doesn't like this
arrangement anymore, we can dissolve it with no hard feelings.

In short, this dude's ideas are stuck somewhere near the beginning of his
career. He's learnt _nothing_ in those 30 years. It's not experience if you
aren't learning from it. It's just paper pushing.

------
JshWright
I trudged through the first dozen or so paragraphs, and finally gave up at
this: "Consequently, there is little original source code being produced in
today's software."

------
etherael
This man is a buffoon.

<http://www.phmainstreet.com/mba/>

I know, let's name my company MBA so I can present myself as Tim Bryce (MBA).

~~~
gaius
Broken links on that site too (e.g. to "Bryce's Laws", none of which he can
claim to have originated).

------
forinti
"This must be carefully nurtured by management"

Aren't these managers wonderful people?

------
wildjim
It's a sad and disappointing article, and too many "observations" seem rather
biased and couched in the claim of multiple years of experience; though I
highly doubt it's very broad experience, because the views are too narrow.

I strongly suspect this article is based on two aspects:

\- one is to sell his services with a type of confirmation bias, i.e. to
confirm "what every manager suspected about their programmers but could never
prove", which leads to:

\- ending up "helping" the same type of companies/clients throughout his
career.

------
msluyter
"It is well known that programmers generally abhor organization and
discipline. Their desks are often littered with stacks of paper and other
debris."

He got that much right (referring to myself).

~~~
sketerpot
Keep in mind that this article was written by someone who believes that
employees should be forbidden to listen to music other than company-approved
easy-listening muzak. Which he feels should be mandatory.

In short, this guy is trying very hard to rationalize his extremely
controlling nature.

------
rw140
I am tempted to make the blanket statement: "Don't let non-technical managers
manage technical people."

That would be unfair to all the good non-technical managers out there (I
believe this is harder, but still possible). How about "Don't let managers who
cannot establish a rapport with technical people manage technical people"?

------
pmichaud
I stopped reading when I got to the bit about programmers being glorified
translators.

------
jpwagner
this must be a joke (a dry one at that.)

not worth the read.

~~~
sketerpot
No, this guy is actually every bit as much of a bozo as the article suggests.
Check out his guide to hiring a programmer:

[http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/irm-blog/hiring-the-right-
progra...](http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/irm-blog/hiring-the-right-
programmer-11596)

In particular, his example of good C code is illuminating:

    
    
        int. Table [10] [10]; /* 2 dimensional array */
            for (i=0; ; <10; ++i)
            for (j=0; ; <10; ++i) 
                 printf("%d/n",table[i][j]); 
    

Enough said, I think.

~~~
microtherion
I also like this one about printers:

[http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/irm-blog/bryces-pet-peeve-
comput...](http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/irm-blog/bryces-pet-peeve-computer-
printers-11242009-35499)

where he talks about "today's consumer dot-matrix printers".

