Joe's Jottings
Jottings Number 36, Reply T, by Jan Grady:
Date: Fri, 1 Sep 95 16:48:49 -0700
In regard to "heroes", I have found that in managing software development teams, I always like to have at least one or two people who are the resident "techies". They are the wizards who can make anything work, code up prototypes to test a concept with practically overnight turnaround, and enjoy the challenge so much that we don't feel too bad if they work long hours once in a while to accomplish these feats because they seem to have so much fun doing it. While a few of these people are great to have around, they usually have a down side. Most of the ones I've worked with hate to document what they've done, and often their quick designs don't stand up to the usability needs of those using their products. These technical gurus are sometimes a real challenge to manage, as well, but they're worth their weight in gold when the impossible needs to be done immediately. Then they bask in the limelight as the "heroes". Bottom line, to me it all comes back to the idea of DIVERSITY. A whole team of "techies" would come up with creative ideas and build quick prototypes and be able to use all the latest technologies, but we would probably never get a real product out the door, on schedule, within budget, appropriately documented, meeting the users' requirements. It takes a good balance of skills in a team to pull it all together. Jan Grady