Managing the Unmanageable: Rules, Tools, and Insights for Managing Software People and Teams
- By Mickey W. Mantle, Ron Lichty
- Published Sep 16, 2012 by Addison-Wesley Professional.
- Copyright 2013
- Dimensions: 7" x 9-1/8"
- Pages: 464
- Edition: 1st
- Book
- ISBN-10: 0-321-82203-X
- ISBN-13: 978-0-321-82203-1
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Product Author Bios
Mickey W. Mantle has been developing software for more than forty years, as a software and hardware product creator, manager, and executive for companies that include Evans & Sutherland, Pixar, Broderbund, and Gracenote. He currently writes, develops mobile/tablet applications, and consults with a variety of companies and organizations regarding the management of software people and teams.
Ron Lichty has been developing software for thirty years, most of them as a programming manager, director of development, and vice president of products and engineering for companies that include Apple, Fujitsu, Razorfish, and Schwab. He has written four books and hundreds of articles. He consults with startups and companies large and small to unravel the knots in software development and make it hum.
“Mantle and Lichty have assembled a guide that will help you hire, motivate, and mentor a software development team that functions at the highest level. Their rules of thumb and coaching advice are great blueprints for new and experienced software engineering managers alike.”
—Tom Conrad, CTO, Pandora
“I wish I’d had this material available years ago. I see lots and lots of ‘meat’ in here that I’ll use over and over again as I try to become a better manager. The writing style is right on, and I love the personal anecdotes.”
—Steve Johnson, VP, Custom Solutions, DigitalFish
All too often, software development is deemed unmanageable. The news is filled with stories of projects that have run catastrophically over schedule and budget. Although adding some formal discipline to the development process has improved the situation, it has by no means solved the problem. How can it be, with so much time and money spent to get software development under control, that it remains so unmanageable?
In Managing the Unmanageable: Rules, Tools, and Insights for Managing Software People and Teams, Mickey W. Mantle and Ron Lichty answer that persistent question with a simple observation: You first must make programmers and software teams manageable. That is, you need to begin by understanding your people—how to hire them, motivate them, and lead them to develop and deliver great products. Drawing on their combined seventy years of software development and management experience, and highlighting the insights and wisdom of other successful managers, Mantle and Lichty provide the guidance you need to manage people and teams in order to deliver software successfully.
Whether you are new to software management, or have already been working in that role, you will appreciate the real-world knowledge and practical tools packed into this guide.
Related Articles
21 Rules of Thumb for Managing Software People and Teams
Managing the Unmanageable: An Interview with Mickey Mantle and Ron Lichty on Managing Programmers
Author's Site
Author suggested sites: managingtheunmanageable.net and www.ronlichty.com
Please visit the authors' site at www.mmantle.com
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
The 21st Century's "Mythical Man-Month", By Tim Peter "E-commerce and online marketing ex... (Califon, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Managing the Unmanageable: Rules, Tools, and Insights for Managing Software People and Teams (Kindle Edition)
Technology is easy. People are hard. But Mickey Mantle and Ron Lichty's fantastic book can make the people part of your technology operation significantly less hard. Mantle and Lichty understand that it's typically not technology that determines successful projects: it's human beings that make the difference. Instead of focusing on technical solutions, they explore and reveal the human side of technology projects: who your developers are, what makes them tick, what they care about.Fred Brooks' "The Mythical Man-Month" defined how to make technology projects work for a generation of developers and their managers. "Managing the Unmanageable" picks up Brooks' mantle (no pun intended) and carries it into the 21st century. If your career depends on working with technologists (and here's a hint: in the 21st century, it does), you owe it to yourself (and to your technologists) to read this book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
This is Rock Solid Advice and a Pleasure to Read, By
This review is from: Managing the Unmanageable: Rules, Tools, and Insights for Managing Software People and Teams (Paperback)
On any significant size project I am going to have a team of developers reporting to me. Over the years those numbers have varied greatly. I have managed 1 developer and teams of developers. I have the most fun on projects where I have between 4 and 10 developers.I also prefer to be partnered with a good project manager or none at all. A bad project manager just makes it harder to keep the team motivated and the client happy. I would say less the 5% of the gigs I have been on have provided a good project manager. 25% of them have provided bad ones, and the rest of the gigs the responsibility fell on me, the software architect. The point of all this is that my job requires me to manage programmers and communicate to stakeholders effectively. Reading books on project management and general management have not been fun, but has been necessary. I was happy to see one come out that targets more of what I have to do, and that is manage programmers. Below... Read more
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Specific Advice for Developer Managers, By Greg Gehrich (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Managing the Unmanageable: Rules, Tools, and Insights for Managing Software People and Teams (Paperback)
Mantle and Lichty give us specifics on how to manage the different types of programmer personalities. This is the first time I've seen developers categorized like this combined with advice on how to manage each.Very topical is the offshoring of talent. They state "... if you can make them work 70 percent as effectively as in-house staff, you are either lucky or working tremendously hard to make it happen". This agrees with my own assessment of 50% productivity for offshore resources, concerns around speed-to-market and the wisdom of this economy. Another quote "If you find yourself giving specific directions often, you are not leveraging your skills well enough or empowering your staff" illustrates the value of this book. It's hard for new managers to learn to delegate. They may even be aware of this tendency and the need to delegate. But what they rarely get are specifics that alert them when a change to their management is needed. I wish this book... Read more |
Sample Pages
Table of Contents
Preface xxi
About the Authors xxvii
Chapter 1: Why Programmers Seem Unmanageable 1
What Do Programmers Do? 3
Why Is Becoming a Successful Programming Manager Hard? 7
Chapter 2: Understanding Programmers 9
Programming Disciplines 10
Types of Programmers 13
Domain Expertise 16
Programmer Job Requirements and Abilities 17
Proximity and Relationship 20
Generational Styles 25
Personality Styles 27
Summary 33
Tools 34
Chapter 3: Finding and Hiring Great Programmers 35
Determining What Kind of Programmer to Hire 37
Writing the Job Description 39
Selling the Hire 45
Recruiting Full-Time Employees (FTEs) 46
Recruiting Contractors 56
Reviewing Résumés 57
Narrowing the Field 59
Preparing to Interview 60
Interviewing 67
Making the Decision to Hire a Programmer 72
Making the Right Offer to a Programmer 76
Follow Up Until the Programmer Accepts 82
Summary 83
Tools 83
Chapter 4: Getting New Programmers Started Off Right 84
Get Them on Board Early 85
Preparing for Their Arrival 86
First-Day Musts 87
Introductions 91
Ensuring Success 92
Initial Expectations 95
Summary 98
Tools 98
Chapter 5: Becoming an Effective Programming Manager: Managing Down 99
Earning Technical Respect 100
Hire Great Programmers 105
Turbocharge the Team You Have 105
Managing Different Types of Programmers 106
Facilitation 111
Protection 111
Judging and Improving Performance 113
Organizational Thinking 123
Deliver Results and Celebrate Success 141
Summary 142
Tools 142
RULES OF THUMB AND NUGGETS OF WISDOM 143
The Challenges of Managing 147
Managing People 173
Managing Teams to Deliver Successfully 203
Chapter 6: Becoming an Effective Programming Manager: Managing Up, Out, and Yourself 227
Managing Up 228
Managing Out 234
Managing Yourself 250
Summary 268
Tools 268
Chapter 7: Motivating Programmers 269
Motivational Theories 269
Motivational Factors as Applied to Programmers 274
Putting Theory into Practice 279
Foundational Factors—Causes of Dissatisfaction (When Lacking) 280
Key Motivating Factors 303
Personal Commitment 312
Technology Offense and Defense 314
Understanding Your Programmers’ Motivations
Begins on Day One 316
Summary 317
Chapter 8: Establishing a Successful Programming Culture 318
Defining “Successful” 319
The Programming Culture 319
Company Culture 320
Characteristics of a Successful Programming Culture 327
Summary 346
Tools 346
Chapter 9: Managing Successful Software Delivery 347
Defining the Project 348
Planning the Work 358
Kicking Off the Plan 370
Executing the Work 376
Running the End Game 391
Delivering the Software 396
Summary 401
Tools 402
TOOLS 403
Index 407
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