94 karma · joined May 27, 2017
I think the dynamic that creates this is that the product org becomes responsible for delivering features/products to business stakeholders, and product blames any delays on Eng not being able to deliver on time. So then Eng decides to let product plan everything to a t, such that Eng cannot be blamed if they meet said plan. Which is what motivates my use of the term “code monkeys”…
I feel like engineering should have the freedom and responsibility to entirely own the product delivery. Product managers/owners would still decide what product should be built, and then Eng would take it from there. But I don’t think I have seen this anywhere, and not sure if it would work.
I think the PM fad has been around much longer, to the point one almost forgets how to build products without PMs. But from my experience, I find that the prevalence and empowerment of PMs is largely turning Devs into highly-paid code monkeys, as opposed to the highly-paid and empowered value builders that they should be. Much of the busy work that many PMs are doing can be replaced with a bit of Agile/Scrum training of a few devs per team.
At the same time, I would say that having a product owner who develops a deep understanding of the domain, actively talks to customers, and steers the vision and direction is immensely valuable. But I hardly see any of my PMs doing it.
Anyway, I am seeing a lot of negative sentiment towards the prevalence of PMs these days, which I mostly share. Would love to hear any counter-thoughts or corroborations of this. Are PMs necessary? How should they be utilized?
Just wanted to add that the wholesale adoption and normalization of WFH and remote culture in tech is worrying and will only make this type of issue worse and more common. Personally, I had consistently been able to make good friendships at work across several positions at different companies/cities/countries. That's until WFH and remote work hit, where now I rarely see coworkers in person (if at all), and often people are not in the same city. We feel more like automatons these days.
Tech work seems no longer a reliable vector for creating meaningful friendships or a social life outside of work. Like OP, many of us will have to learn to meet people outside of work.
An engineer who could have solved this problem without a fuss within a month or two is easily a 10x engineer. Not because they work 10x faster, but through better ideas and thought process, efficiency with their tools, and exercising leverage. This is even without considering their additional impact on the work of others.
I think this could be applicable in any software or tech field, as long as the best solution to a problem isn’t trivial or immediately obvious.
Is this for real?! Do non native speakers of Arabic (and similar languages) not hear the common sound at the start of words like apple, elegant, ignite, umpire? I find that hard to believe since they are saying it.