Questions tagged [management]

"The powers that be" is often a phrase used to describe those in a position of authority responsible for work. Distribution of resources would be a way to describe what managers do though resources include time, money and people.

"The powers that be" is often a phrase used to describe those in a position of authority responsible for work. Distribution of resources would be a way to describe what managers do though resources include time, money and people.

Questions in this area often involve talking to non-technical bosses that control funding of various ideas, getting into being one of those bosses, or communicating technical limitations to managers.

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I'm a manager. How can I improve work relationships and communication with programmers?

A little background first. I'm a project manager at medium-sized company. I started as a CS major and had a little exposure to programming, but after a few months I knew it's not my path, so I switched over to management. That proved to be a good…
AgentSmith
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What kind of innovative non-cash financial benefits do I offer to my developers to retain them along with a competitive salary?

Stock options don't make much sense, since the company's private. [It still does, if you are a facebook of sorts AND the regulatory system permits sites like secondmarket, but I digress.] I could think of some: Health benefits to parents and…
Fanatic23
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Reasons Programmers Leave

I am interested in finding out why programmers leave their jobs and if the reasons for leaving have resurfaced in your now job? Is the reason for leaving simply down to remuneration, location, I hate my boss / coworker, lack of recognition or…
Kane
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What is the Best Way to Incentivize a Team of Developers?

I know in advance that people are going to see this question and think "free Red Bull." But I am actually looking for the best way to tie rewards for developers to the company's long-term goals. For example, assuming a team is working on the same…
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The written roles of software development manager

We all know what a software development manager does, but I'm afraid that we only know it vaguely. We think we know what he is doing, but to exactly list down what is the job scope is a bit hard. In your opinion, what are the roles of a software…
Graviton
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Blaming the ills of today on the technical debt of yesterday

A surprising number of quality, scalability, and load problems have been occurring on an application I currently support that I did not originally write. Thankfully I have new projects that I have been doing from the ground up to retain some…
maple_shaft
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What's your suggestion if the company didn't recognize my contribution towards a big project?

I am an entry level developer with 1 year of experience. I have worked on a large scale project which I have played around 80% of the project work, those 5 months were terrible to me - late nights spent working, even Sundays. i have worked on whole…
Krishna
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Going about increasing salary during performance review

I'm currently facing a dilemma with an upcoming performance review. When I started with my company around 1 year ago I tried to be as honest as possible in my perception of my programming skill set and knowledge. I based my perceived skills on my…
dreza
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As a programmer, are you required to do timesheets?

Timesheets are something that I've never been fond of, but none the less something that is a requirement within my company. They don't bother me so much, but they seem to really grind some other people's gears. I suppose I have a few questions, and…
vcsjones
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When/why is it easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission?

The saying "It's easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission" seems pretty popular among programmers and IIRC was attributed to Grace Hopper. In what situations is this typically true, and why do you believe that such a counterintuitive…
dsimcha
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Explaining technical things to non-technical people

I often have to explain technical things and technical decisions to my extremely non technical manager and I'm pretty awful at it. What are good ways to essential dumb things down for the rest of the world who don't have a passion for…
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What traits do the best managers you've worked for have in common?

I have been listening to Scott Hanselman and Rob Conery's podcast, This Developer's Life. In the latest episode, they discuss personality traits: 1.0.4 - Being Mean. What makes people mean in our industry? What about aggressive? Confident?…
Paddyslacker
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What subject do you discuss with your manager during a one-on-one?

Every week, I have a 30 minutes meeting scheduled with my manager to talk about pretty much anything. So far, I haven't taken those one-on-one very seriously. As a new year resolution, I would like to take more seriously my one-on-ones with my…
Martin
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So they're trying to pull me into management

I work in a small IT department in a non tech company. My manager recently quit and they are looking for a replacement. I guess since I'm one of those "rare" developers with people skills, the director is encouraging me to apply Part of me wants to…
Clarence
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How do you help your fellow programmers to grow?

As a team lead, how can you help your programmers to grow? The reason I ask this is because there are a few programmers working with me, and I really want to "turn them on the loose", to realize their maximum potential, and to keep them happy. But I…
Graviton
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