Programmer Interrupted
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A developer at my company found this article[^] and sent it out to the rest of us (and the testers). I agree with most of what this guy says, and the research results he presents seem pretty spot on. What say you, Lounge? EDIT: After reading the posts below, it seems Keith could use this as ammo to his higher-ups. :thumbsup:
The United States invariably does the right thing, after having exhausted every other alternative. -Winston Churchill America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between. -Oscar Wilde Wow, even the French showed a little more spine than that before they got their sh*t pushed in.[^] -Colin Mullikin
Colin Mullikin wrote:
What say you, Lounge?
Although one could not "ultimately eliminate interruptions", one can reduce them strongly. That being the problem, then that's what needs to be addressed. I do not own a mobile telephone. I don't have voicemail. No family in the IM, no interruptions over IM. Ask every IM whether it was acute, and, if not, why the elephant they did not use email. Close your mail-client. One is inclined to respond immediatly. Don't. Check it once every two hours, if you go fill up your coffee. Let everyone know that you're "available" for talk during those minutes. Kick everyone out, including deities, that disturb during work. If a worker can be interrupted, that means that work can get interrupted. In extremis, it could endanger the release of the current beta. And the IM-status; green means doing interruptable work, "available" as it says, and the red means simply "busy". Now get back to your office, and lock your door from the inside. Anyone knocking can safely be ignored if you put a paper on the door explaining that you're working and cannot be disturbed, unless there's a (physical) fire. Also write your coffee-machine-talk times on there and your mail-adres. Also keep a log of requests during those times. See if some complaints keep recurring that are not meant to be handled by either you or your department. I've just started at a new company, and have no idea what tactics they would use. 'bout to find out mayhaps.
Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss: If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
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A developer at my company found this article[^] and sent it out to the rest of us (and the testers). I agree with most of what this guy says, and the research results he presents seem pretty spot on. What say you, Lounge? EDIT: After reading the posts below, it seems Keith could use this as ammo to his higher-ups. :thumbsup:
The United States invariably does the right thing, after having exhausted every other alternative. -Winston Churchill America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between. -Oscar Wilde Wow, even the French showed a little more spine than that before they got their sh*t pushed in.[^] -Colin Mullikin
I can personally vouch for the extreme effect of interruptions on coding... For the last 12 months I have had to take a diuretic which means that I generally have to "get up and go" every 30 minutes or so. My coding output has dropped to about 1/3 of my previous level. Luckily I have another part of my work which is more suited to short attention spans, so I now put off coding until later in the day when the meds have lost much of their effect.
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I've no need to read the article. Before there was an Internet, I read a similar one done by (IIRC) Harvard Business School which reported that, based on a rather serious study, each casual interruption no matter how brief, costs an average of 20 minutes productivity. That study was limited to workers who have jobs that require concentration - programming is certainly one of them, as is engineering - and not mere repetition, like assembly line workers. Every phone call, every impromptu drop in to the home cubicle by a coworker, each "quick meeting" the boss calls down the hall, costs 20 minutes. Eight of those in a day, and you leave the office farther behind than when you arrived. Might as well stay in bed... And, just like the report I read, this one will be ignored by every boss it is shown to... :sigh:
Will Rogers never met me.
Quote:
And, just like the report I read, this one will be ignored by every boss it is shown to...
Maybe... But why not just do some things mentioned above anyway? They expect YOU to not tell THEM how to do THEIR work so you can (at least IMHO) expect THEM to not tell YOU how to do YOUR work. Creating the right environment for working is damn sure part of your job, not theirs, isn't it? Regs, cmger
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A developer at my company found this article[^] and sent it out to the rest of us (and the testers). I agree with most of what this guy says, and the research results he presents seem pretty spot on. What say you, Lounge? EDIT: After reading the posts below, it seems Keith could use this as ammo to his higher-ups. :thumbsup:
The United States invariably does the right thing, after having exhausted every other alternative. -Winston Churchill America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between. -Oscar Wilde Wow, even the French showed a little more spine than that before they got their sh*t pushed in.[^] -Colin Mullikin
I've got a simple solution to those who interrupt me too much. I leave their bodies to rot outside my cubicle.
Software Zen:
delete this; -
A developer at my company found this article[^] and sent it out to the rest of us (and the testers). I agree with most of what this guy says, and the research results he presents seem pretty spot on. What say you, Lounge? EDIT: After reading the posts below, it seems Keith could use this as ammo to his higher-ups. :thumbsup:
The United States invariably does the right thing, after having exhausted every other alternative. -Winston Churchill America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between. -Oscar Wilde Wow, even the French showed a little more spine than that before they got their sh*t pushed in.[^] -Colin Mullikin
The best way to stop being interrupted is to be self-employed. This is a SERIOUS response, by the way. If your "boss" is giving you shite, then start your own firm. Simples.
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A developer at my company found this article[^] and sent it out to the rest of us (and the testers). I agree with most of what this guy says, and the research results he presents seem pretty spot on. What say you, Lounge? EDIT: After reading the posts below, it seems Keith could use this as ammo to his higher-ups. :thumbsup:
The United States invariably does the right thing, after having exhausted every other alternative. -Winston Churchill America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between. -Oscar Wilde Wow, even the French showed a little more spine than that before they got their sh*t pushed in.[^] -Colin Mullikin
There's no dispute that interruptions are a productivity killer. Unfortunately, some interruptions cannot be buffered off:
- Those from people you're supposed to supervise;
- Those from the guy who supervises you;
- Those from your spouse.
Attempt to reject any of those intrusions at your peril. In the first case, the interruptions are part of your responsibilities to your subordinates. In the second, you have an implicit requirement to be available to your supervisor. In the third, sleeping on the couch can ruin your back.
While there are ways to make it plain to others that you'd prefer not to be bothered at the moment, none of them are proof against intrusion -- and none of them will spare you the deleterious consequences of even attempting to deny access to the persons enumerated above. Verbum sat sapienti.
(This message is programming you in ways you cannot detect. Be afraid.)
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A developer at my company found this article[^] and sent it out to the rest of us (and the testers). I agree with most of what this guy says, and the research results he presents seem pretty spot on. What say you, Lounge? EDIT: After reading the posts below, it seems Keith could use this as ammo to his higher-ups. :thumbsup:
The United States invariably does the right thing, after having exhausted every other alternative. -Winston Churchill America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between. -Oscar Wilde Wow, even the French showed a little more spine than that before they got their sh*t pushed in.[^] -Colin Mullikin
Slightly off topic, but there's some interesting info about how the guys at Stack Exchange work here. I figure it ties in as if you can work remotely you can cut down interruptions as you don't get people popping round / are in control of the methods that people can use to communicate with you (e.g. stop checking mail / turn phone off / etc). http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2013/02/why-we-still-believe-in-working-remotely/[^]
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I have a large set of on-ear Sony headphones that I put on to listen to music when it is noisy or when I need to concentrate - people pick up on me being in "please don't interrupt me" mode when I have these on. I deliberately do not wear small or in-ear headphones so that this is visible, and it works :)
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
exactly. I have my big sony headphones. I have been accused of looking like Princess Leia. I don't care. Keeps people away. I also sometimes just put them on and don't play music. I pretend not to hear what people are saying. I pick up some interesting tidbits.
To err is human to really mess up you need a computer
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There's no dispute that interruptions are a productivity killer. Unfortunately, some interruptions cannot be buffered off:
- Those from people you're supposed to supervise;
- Those from the guy who supervises you;
- Those from your spouse.
Attempt to reject any of those intrusions at your peril. In the first case, the interruptions are part of your responsibilities to your subordinates. In the second, you have an implicit requirement to be available to your supervisor. In the third, sleeping on the couch can ruin your back.
While there are ways to make it plain to others that you'd prefer not to be bothered at the moment, none of them are proof against intrusion -- and none of them will spare you the deleterious consequences of even attempting to deny access to the persons enumerated above. Verbum sat sapienti.
(This message is programming you in ways you cannot detect. Be afraid.)
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A developer at my company found this article[^] and sent it out to the rest of us (and the testers). I agree with most of what this guy says, and the research results he presents seem pretty spot on. What say you, Lounge? EDIT: After reading the posts below, it seems Keith could use this as ammo to his higher-ups. :thumbsup:
The United States invariably does the right thing, after having exhausted every other alternative. -Winston Churchill America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between. -Oscar Wilde Wow, even the French showed a little more spine than that before they got their sh*t pushed in.[^] -Colin Mullikin
Here's the best way to avoid interruptions: swearing and outright abuse. I find that if I get interrupted, I have just enough time to hurl an expletive at the interruptor before I lose the thread of what I'm doing. They've learned. It works just fine...
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The best way to stop being interrupted is to be self-employed. This is a SERIOUS response, by the way. If your "boss" is giving you shite, then start your own firm. Simples.
That works until you realize you now have ten bosses instead of one...
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A developer at my company found this article[^] and sent it out to the rest of us (and the testers). I agree with most of what this guy says, and the research results he presents seem pretty spot on. What say you, Lounge? EDIT: After reading the posts below, it seems Keith could use this as ammo to his higher-ups. :thumbsup:
The United States invariably does the right thing, after having exhausted every other alternative. -Winston Churchill America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between. -Oscar Wilde Wow, even the French showed a little more spine than that before they got their sh*t pushed in.[^] -Colin Mullikin
In addition to "hard to concentrate again" I can add: 1. Never use f**ng cattleshed (common big room) for developers - everyone should sit in maximally isolated environment - room or at least "box" with walls till breast. NO ANY SUPPORT GUYS NEAR! 2. No f**ng coffe machines, kitchen, microwaves near workplace - FOOD SMELL IS A CR@P! Same rule if you wanna ask smth from your colleague and keep damn coffe in hands! (or, damn you, squelch with mouth!) 3. Use blinds on the windows, ESP. when your screens are "glare". 4. Never ever put on programmers "administration" tasks - "install Outlook", "see why it doesn't print" etc. They are PROGRAMMERS. Hire sysadmin to do all the rest. 5. Let 'em work at time they are comfortable. Nobody gives a sh** that you working from 8 - it's the time I wake up! And I need at least 2 hours just to become "in mind" to start coding. 6. Programmer should never ask anybody for pens/measure/marker/"where is paper for printer"/etc - all that sh** should be done by office admin and provide everybody with 10 pens, 10 notebooks, etc. I can add many more nuances, but you got the point: mind should be in quiet, isolated, comfortable place to do the job properly.
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A developer at my company found this article[^] and sent it out to the rest of us (and the testers). I agree with most of what this guy says, and the research results he presents seem pretty spot on. What say you, Lounge? EDIT: After reading the posts below, it seems Keith could use this as ammo to his higher-ups. :thumbsup:
The United States invariably does the right thing, after having exhausted every other alternative. -Winston Churchill America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between. -Oscar Wilde Wow, even the French showed a little more spine than that before they got their sh*t pushed in.[^] -Colin Mullikin
I have a three step simple formula 1. I have a machine which has a dual boot, one copy of OS is used for emails, chats and all the other junk the second copy has all my source code and other things. I have not installed any thin client and configured the firewall so that I cant check emails or chat using a web client 2. I have told everyone that on days I will be in office I will not code so talk to me as much 3. On days I work from home I am chatting and stuff only for 1 hr and after that I get into my code and the only way to reach me is via phone and people tend to not call unless hell has broken loose
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A developer at my company found this article[^] and sent it out to the rest of us (and the testers). I agree with most of what this guy says, and the research results he presents seem pretty spot on. What say you, Lounge? EDIT: After reading the posts below, it seems Keith could use this as ammo to his higher-ups. :thumbsup:
The United States invariably does the right thing, after having exhausted every other alternative. -Winston Churchill America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between. -Oscar Wilde Wow, even the French showed a little more spine than that before they got their sh*t pushed in.[^] -Colin Mullikin
I couldn't agree more. This article also sums up a developer's thought processes nicely , contains a lot of common sense and reflects my experience in open-plan office hell. Acoustics are dreadful, so conversations 20 feet away are clearly audible and intrusive. Not to mention my cackling boss who sits next to me and bellows into her headset when having a conversation. Even with noise-isolating in-ear headphones, I can still hear her unless I play loud rock music, which itself doesn't help concentration. On top of that, we also have Communicator but I am almost permanently on DND status, which helps. But then people with team access level can still interrupt because they see your status as "Urgent Interruptions Only" and proceed to interrupt with non-urgent queries which begin "Hi, sorry to interrupt but..." :mad: The days when I'm able to work at home are bliss, when the only distraction is the irritating noise of the fan of an HP6910 laptop, so even then I sometimes put on the headphones!
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exactly. I have my big sony headphones. I have been accused of looking like Princess Leia. I don't care. Keeps people away. I also sometimes just put them on and don't play music. I pretend not to hear what people are saying. I pick up some interesting tidbits.
To err is human to really mess up you need a computer