tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237530825191390698.post1390406918603975161..comments2024-03-08T20:18:18.649+11:00Comments on Software Development: Agile RolesAndrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583922517961948560noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237530825191390698.post-22430272642606706102015-02-01T00:58:03.104+11:002015-02-01T00:58:03.104+11:00I guess I am lucky in that I have worked in many d...I guess I am lucky in that I have worked in many different software development environments. At one extreme I worked for a very small company where I talked directly to the customer about their requirements, did all of the user-interface design, coding, etc and was expected to deliver fully tested, working software for the customer to perform their acceptance tests. At the other extreme I was a coder for a very large company where I was given large design documents (which mostly could not be understood or made little sense) and was not expected to deliver well-tested code since the software went through several cycles of testing by 3 different “QA” teams. The latter was far and away more diempowering and frustrating than the former.<br /><br />You do not say what your specialty was but if it was a task less suited to an Agile environment (such as specialized designer/architect) then that is the price of progress. Perhaps you could give a few more details. However, I suspect you can use your specialist skills just a fruitfully in the new Agile process. You may be needlessly worried about the organizational changes.<br /><br />I agree with you entirely about task switching though. I see no point in someone with advanced specialized skills wasting their time doing less skilled work. This is bad for the person and the organization. But as I said above I don’t think having a developer work on analysis, design, coding and testing of a particular feature is task switching, more as different aspects of the same task.<br />Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09583922517961948560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237530825191390698.post-21877853464699211662015-01-24T06:37:05.386+11:002015-01-24T06:37:05.386+11:00As a developer on numerous Production Line created...As a developer on numerous Production Line created software products I have never felt disempowered. I have appreciated my specialty within the Production Line and have not lost motivation for the entire 8 years that I have honed my specialty. We have recently switched to an Agile process for creating our software products, and only now do I feel marginalized. My specialty now appears meaningless to the organization. If management believes that all of us on the team should now be able to take on any task, then I say management should also be forced to task switch. Why should the lack of hierarchy be reserved for just the Developers and QA? From the CEO on down the entire organization should be flattened so that everybody has the opportunity to do everything. Let the CEO edit a python script, now we're talking Agile!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237530825191390698.post-25644168148361737662015-01-16T16:03:20.231+11:002015-01-16T16:03:20.231+11:00Thanks for that link. Nice article. I don't re...Thanks for that link. Nice article. I don't recall but I may have heard of "Silo Syndrome" before.<br /><br />Yes they are closely related. I talked more about them both in my next post on December 31st, if you want to take a look.Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09583922517961948560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237530825191390698.post-49618727456667779532015-01-16T15:59:04.611+11:002015-01-16T15:59:04.611+11:00I agree that task switching is distracting. In fac...I agree that task switching is distracting. In fact I said something (about it leading to bugs) in a previous post. However, when you do different things to implement a particular feature it is more like working on different aspects of the same task.This actually helps you stay focused on what you are trying to achieve.Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09583922517961948560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237530825191390698.post-53122083753514764822015-01-12T08:48:31.451+11:002015-01-12T08:48:31.451+11:00Basically you are saying that devs do everything?!...Basically you are saying that devs do everything?!? I vehemently disagree. It is annoying to have to jump between different tasks. It also leads to errors. The devs should just concentrate on writing the software.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237530825191390698.post-63147554073316584772014-12-03T14:50:31.991+11:002014-12-03T14:50:31.991+11:00Great article - makes a lot of sense, esp. product...Great article - makes a lot of sense, esp. production line mentaility and "DIRE". I was just reading about "functional silo syndrome" which I think is what you are talking about with "production line mentaility". Eg see http://www.forbes.com/sites/brentgleeson/2013/10/02/the-silo-mentality-how-to-break-down-the-barriers/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com