Development Manager?
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What do you folks consider the role of a Development Manager to be? Are there any DM's here? What are the potential pitfalls that one should watch out for if the role was offered to one? What do DM's get paid these days? All comments welcome.
But fortunately we have the nanny-state politicians who can step in to protect us poor stupid consumers, most of whom would not know a JVM from a frozen chicken. Bruce Pierson
Because programming is an art, not a science. Marc Clifton
I gave up when I couldn't spell "egg". Justine Allen -
What do you folks consider the role of a Development Manager to be? Are there any DM's here? What are the potential pitfalls that one should watch out for if the role was offered to one? What do DM's get paid these days? All comments welcome.
But fortunately we have the nanny-state politicians who can step in to protect us poor stupid consumers, most of whom would not know a JVM from a frozen chicken. Bruce Pierson
Because programming is an art, not a science. Marc Clifton
I gave up when I couldn't spell "egg". Justine Allen -
Manager == Responsibility (for others, possibly stupid others)
xacc.ide - now with TabsToSpaces support
IronScheme - 1.0 alpha 4a out now (29 May 2008) -
What do you folks consider the role of a Development Manager to be? Are there any DM's here? What are the potential pitfalls that one should watch out for if the role was offered to one? What do DM's get paid these days? All comments welcome.
But fortunately we have the nanny-state politicians who can step in to protect us poor stupid consumers, most of whom would not know a JVM from a frozen chicken. Bruce Pierson
Because programming is an art, not a science. Marc Clifton
I gave up when I couldn't spell "egg". Justine Allen -
What do you folks consider the role of a Development Manager to be? Are there any DM's here? What are the potential pitfalls that one should watch out for if the role was offered to one? What do DM's get paid these days? All comments welcome.
But fortunately we have the nanny-state politicians who can step in to protect us poor stupid consumers, most of whom would not know a JVM from a frozen chicken. Bruce Pierson
Because programming is an art, not a science. Marc Clifton
I gave up when I couldn't spell "egg". Justine Allen -
We have development managers where I work. I'm not sure what they are for. Certainly if they go on holiday for two weeks, nobody notices.
Words fade as the meanings change, but somehow, it don't bother me.
Boro_Bob wrote:
Certainly if they go on holiday for two weeks, nobody notices.
That's a trait of good managers. If a manager leaves for vacation and suddenly nothing functions any more, there is a problem.
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What do you folks consider the role of a Development Manager to be? Are there any DM's here? What are the potential pitfalls that one should watch out for if the role was offered to one? What do DM's get paid these days? All comments welcome.
But fortunately we have the nanny-state politicians who can step in to protect us poor stupid consumers, most of whom would not know a JVM from a frozen chicken. Bruce Pierson
Because programming is an art, not a science. Marc Clifton
I gave up when I couldn't spell "egg". Justine AllenWorking as a developer now but I've been a dev manager in two previous companies. A good DM should be someone that:
- Defends his/her development team and shields them from upper management interference as much as possible.
- Trusts the team (especially the team leads, architects, etc.) to know how to do their jobs and provides them with the opportunity to actually do that job.
- Understands the software lifecycle (whatever it may be at that company)
- Knows what needs to happen in order for a project to be completed on time/budget and how to remove obstacles that would prevent that from happening.
As for potential pitfalls, you do eventually start to loose your development skills as more and more time is spent actually managing project timelines, requirements, etc. and in meetings. I've been at companies where I was both a DM and a developer and it is very hard to do both effectively without spending very long days at the office.
Scott Dorman
Microsoft® MVP - Visual C# | MCPD President - Tampa Bay IASA [Blog][Articles][Forum Guidelines]
Hey, hey, hey. Don't be mean. We don't have to be mean because, remember, no matter where you go, there you are. - Buckaroo Banzai
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Working as a developer now but I've been a dev manager in two previous companies. A good DM should be someone that:
- Defends his/her development team and shields them from upper management interference as much as possible.
- Trusts the team (especially the team leads, architects, etc.) to know how to do their jobs and provides them with the opportunity to actually do that job.
- Understands the software lifecycle (whatever it may be at that company)
- Knows what needs to happen in order for a project to be completed on time/budget and how to remove obstacles that would prevent that from happening.
As for potential pitfalls, you do eventually start to loose your development skills as more and more time is spent actually managing project timelines, requirements, etc. and in meetings. I've been at companies where I was both a DM and a developer and it is very hard to do both effectively without spending very long days at the office.
Scott Dorman
Microsoft® MVP - Visual C# | MCPD President - Tampa Bay IASA [Blog][Articles][Forum Guidelines]
Hey, hey, hey. Don't be mean. We don't have to be mean because, remember, no matter where you go, there you are. - Buckaroo Banzai
Scott Dorman wrote:
you do eventually start to loose your development skills
This is a concern of mine. I really enjoy writing code & keeping my skills current. Technology and software engineering are passions of mine & I'm worried that by accepting a DM role I'll be missing out.
Scott Dorman wrote:
spending very long days at the office
This is already part of my life. Thankfully the company I work for really looks after their people and hours are pretty flexible (so long as you're not taking the p*ss).
But fortunately we have the nanny-state politicians who can step in to protect us poor stupid consumers, most of whom would not know a JVM from a frozen chicken. Bruce Pierson
Because programming is an art, not a science. Marc Clifton
I gave up when I couldn't spell "egg". Justine Allen -
Scott Dorman wrote:
you do eventually start to loose your development skills
This is a concern of mine. I really enjoy writing code & keeping my skills current. Technology and software engineering are passions of mine & I'm worried that by accepting a DM role I'll be missing out.
Scott Dorman wrote:
spending very long days at the office
This is already part of my life. Thankfully the company I work for really looks after their people and hours are pretty flexible (so long as you're not taking the p*ss).
But fortunately we have the nanny-state politicians who can step in to protect us poor stupid consumers, most of whom would not know a JVM from a frozen chicken. Bruce Pierson
Because programming is an art, not a science. Marc Clifton
I gave up when I couldn't spell "egg". Justine AllenDave Sexton wrote:
This is a concern of mine. I really enjoy writing code & keeping my skills current. Technology and software engineering are passions of mine & I'm worried that by accepting a DM role I'll be missing out.
Yes, it's a valid concern. Unless you end up in a DM role where you are both DM and developer, this will eventually happen. I found that I could still keep my skills current but did so by getting involved in the community and open source projects and working on my own personal projects. Being a good DM involves a completely different skill set and has its own rewards and challenges. If you do end up taking the role, a good book is Herding Cats[^].
Scott Dorman
Microsoft® MVP - Visual C# | MCPD President - Tampa Bay IASA [Blog][Articles][Forum Guidelines]
Hey, hey, hey. Don't be mean. We don't have to be mean because, remember, no matter where you go, there you are. - Buckaroo Banzai
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Boro_Bob wrote:
Certainly if they go on holiday for two weeks, nobody notices.
That's a trait of good managers. If a manager leaves for vacation and suddenly nothing functions any more, there is a problem.
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What do you folks consider the role of a Development Manager to be? Are there any DM's here? What are the potential pitfalls that one should watch out for if the role was offered to one? What do DM's get paid these days? All comments welcome.
But fortunately we have the nanny-state politicians who can step in to protect us poor stupid consumers, most of whom would not know a JVM from a frozen chicken. Bruce Pierson
Because programming is an art, not a science. Marc Clifton
I gave up when I couldn't spell "egg". Justine AllenDave Sexton wrote:
the role of a Development Manager
Just to plugin the phone into the arse in the morning and yell non-stop at the team members; make astronomical predictions to the clients; goof-up deadlines and fabricate stories to 'cover up' the same. :-D
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