The Joel on Software Discussion Group

I have being pondering the following thought for the last few days. With astonishment I realized that when going into a totally unknown for me area of knowledge, I completely lose my ability to judge the competence of people in that area. Basically, I have no reference experiences to validate what I am hearing, so if somebody talks a good game, that is all I get to judge. I used to think that other people around me could not do this, but I could, but no, I am not that special either :-)

 So this brings me to the next point. A boss who is not in your exact area of work expertise will have no way to judge your competence in situations where no specific deliverables are involved, or they are of simple "pass/fail" nature. Like, the computer code has to run, so this is quite specific, but what if you just need to deliver some report ? Words do not execute, they just sit there.

 Thus it appears that the mere criterion that will get judged is what kind of game you talk, and how busy you look. The quality of deliverables is in these situations unimportant.

 Now, I would hate to burn my time just to look busy, but sometimes there is no other way. Ideally, I'd prefer just to be competent, but this is not enough because the outsiders may just not be qualified to evaluate the quality of your output.

 So, let's share good ways to look busy. Anything goes, from repetition of "I am so busy", full calendar, bunch of non-deliverable activities, etc. We all know a co-worker like that, who seem to do precious little, but is of super high busy-ness.

Most software project/programme managers I've ever worked with are pretty much useless and waste of company money. It wouldn't be that bad if they somehow don't get that ridiculous high salary (higher than developer) for doing such a simple job, e.g. scheduling, communicating with customer, writing proposal, facilitating meeting, etc. after all someone needs to do this. It doesn't take a very smart/intelligent person to do these kind of tasks.

On the other hand, a technical manager/technical lead is almost indispensable. Most of the time, the tech lead would just take over the role of project manager, as the former can estimate more accurately and allocate more appropriately.

IMHO, project managers are just glorified secretaries in the IT world!

Oops, wrong thread!

Focus on the communication part, that way you can both be competent, and be perceived as competent at the same time.  I hate to use a scary word, but this is called marketing.

What's the point in being the company's top developer if no one knows about it?

Perception is reality.

Do you really want to waste your life scamming a trusting manager?

I've been doing this "successfully" for the last two years and finally got sick of it.

I'm auto generating some two hundred (200!) reports that nobody will read. Really, there is only one report that's important.

So, I'm bailing out. Leaving ship. I'd rather be unemployed than keep on pretending to be busy.

My recipe for success: Internet. Just look busy while you read JoelOnSoftware, CodingHorror, Reddit, you name it.

Yes, this is so true. I get judged even when I'm creating things which are better and useful than what has ever been done in my office just cos my boss is a programmer analyst while the sysadmin in my office talks crap and does nothing worthwhile but he always seems to appreciate him./

"A boss who is not in your exact area of work expertise will have no way to judge your competence"

Well, maybe that person shouldn't be my boss in the first place?

Do you produce what you are asked to produce within the time (and budget) set for it?  Does it work as required?  Is it written, even documented, so that it can be supported by others?

Answer these kinds of questions in the affirmative, and you're competent.  For extra points, make sure you are also seen as somebody who plays well with others, so that the NEXT team wants to have you around.

"...ability to judge the competence of people..."

I read a study on this. It goes even further that you also don't have the ability to judge your own competence in an unfamiliar area.

In any given skill domain, incompetent people tended to overrate their ability (as they didin't know what they didn't know) and while very competent people tended to underrate their ability (they were more aware of their limitations).

I dunno. It seems to me that a REALLY competent, high value employee wouldn't consider scamming the system in the first place. Maybe it's just me.

<<<It seems to me that a REALLY competent, high value employee wouldn't consider scamming the system in the first place. Maybe it's just me.>>>

It's not about "scamming" anyone - it's about protecting your own interests.

I think a developer should pursue a balance between productivity, creativity, and planning. Developers control their own productivity so it makes sense that this power should be used cautiously and prudently.

Depending on how many projects you have, depends on the focus upon which your productivity is built. I've been in working situations where I was so bored that I FOUND in-house projects to do.

Conversely, I've also been in working situations where I was so busy that I limited my productivity to a level I could better control, so it works both ways.

You are paid to do a job so you do it to the best of your ability keeping in mind a pursuit for balance between CONTROLLED self-interested productivity and finite time within which to work.

I think if you can maintain a balance between these two concepts, you will discover a satisfied sense of accomplishment and happiness.

You have to keep a balance -- studies suggest that effective employees (competent) spend almost no time networking (schmoozing), whereas successful employees (in terms of promotions) spend at least half their time networking.

The trick is to work hard enough to be the best you can be, while maintaining your network -- that way you're always the right guy in the right place at the right time. You create your own luck... there's no decision here, just do both!

Funny to see threads about how crappy wages are for developers and then another on the same page about how to bullshit your boss into thinking that you are busy.

Ironic. Or maybe not...

>> Funny to see threads about how crappy wages are for developers and then another on the same page about how to bullshit your boss into thinking that you are busy. <<

Mmm, I think this thread says more about the f'ed up corporate environments we work in.

Nobody in this thread seems lazy...they want to 'look busy' either because they don't have enough actual work to do (advertising that fact is a good way to get laid off), or because 'looking busy' is a quicker route to promotion than actually doing work.

I got chewed out because I went into a big meeting without a list detailing how busy I was.

My list was basically:
1. I shipped the new product today

Manager asks (in front of VP's and Directors), "What are you doing now?"

The real answer is basically, "Waiting to fix the inevitable bugs and looking for something to do."

All subsequent meetings, I was required to preapprove my list of busy-ness.

I literally shipped it out at 9am and got chewed out at 10am.  We made some good money off that too and I didn't even get a "good job" before the inquisition over my lack of work ethic for the past 30 minutes.

Speaking of studies, basically nobody has any ability to judge competence in anyone, including themselves.

What is really interesting though, is if you have measurable proof that somebody is not competent, THEY STILL WON"T BELIEVE IT, and believe they are more competent than they really are.

http://www.salon.com/env/mind_reader/2008/09/22/voter_choice/index.html?site_design=grapenuts

The choice quote:

"Similarly, after seeing the answers of the best performers — those in the top quartile — those in the bottom quartile continued to believe that they had performed well."

So it's entirely possible you aren't competent and your boss is, and you are totally fooling yourself :)

>> I went into a big meeting without a list detailing how busy I was. <<

Rookie!

I found tons of good links on this by Googling. Note that I do not advocate not doing anything at all, but why not maximize the appearance of your high busy-ness ? It cannot hurt ! Myself, I am now have to compete with an expert on looking busy, so I can use all the help I can get!

 http://www.softwarereality.com/cthulhu/busy.jsp
 http://www.ivillage.co.uk/workcareer/community/changeyourlife/articles/0,,598877_688661,00.html
 http://employee-management-relations.suite101.com/article.cfm/looking_busy_at_work
 http://dan.idano.net/the-ultimate-guide-to-doing-nothing-but-looking-busy-at-work-42.htm
 http://www.wikihow.com/Look-Busy-at-Work-Without-Really-Working
 http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2003/8/5/1315/19085
 http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.08/howtosecurity.html

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I literally shipped it out at 9am and got chewed out at 10am.  We made some good money off that too and I didn't even get a "good job" before the inquisition over my lack of work ethic for the past 30 minutes.
</quote>

+10 points for shipping product. Good job.

-1000 points for being incredibly clueless in front of senior managers. What were you thinking? Consider it a lesson, learn it well, and never repeat it.

Not to be harsh on developers, but seriously, do you guys all really believe that the only thing you have to do at work is write code? That level of idiocy is hard to come by. We should figure out a way to market it.

The real mistake was by your manager in asking that question in from of senior people. You made him look bad to his managers, which is about the worst thing you can inflict on a middle manager.

"That level of idiocy is hard to come by. We should figure out a way to market it."

Wall Street has been selling that for years.

>The real answer is basically,
>"Waiting to fix the inevitable bugs
>and looking for something to do."

So maybe you could have said, "Monitoring the success of the release of XYZ, and preparing for any customer issues."

That makes you sound busy.

I did mention maintenance as my immediate goal.  But they wanted to know what I was "working" on.

I could have been a complete bastard and said, "isn't that your job to tell me?"

Anywhere else I've been, shipping a decent product on time, on spec and on budget would make you bulletproof through lunch.


@Bruce - I wish upon you all the "looking busy" developers.  Developers who think more about what the 10am meeting means than the revenue stream of the product.  I hope you have developers who are the absolute best at meetings.

<quote>
@Bruce - I wish upon you all the "looking busy" developers.  Developers who think more about what the 10am meeting means than the revenue stream of the product.  I hope you have developers who are the absolute best at meetings.
</quote>

Dude, I don't work at companies where developers talk status with 3 levels of management. And if I did, I'd hope that any developer stuck in that situation would have better sense.

You blew it. Deal with it.