as a Program Manager.
So just got around to reading the above link... and it only makes me want to leave the defense industry for the private sector/ commercial industry even more.
It would be unfair for me to portray all of the defense industry, or even all
ACAT I programs as being this way, but a big reason I am unhappy with my job is exactly because of how program teams are organized/ lead. Often it's the opposite of this:
To make sure that the debate happens respectfully and on a rational basis of facts, it’s absolutely critical that the program managers and developers be peers. If developers report to the program manager, at some point during the debate the program manager is going to get sick of the whole thing and just say, “OK, enough talking, now we do it my way.” When they’re peers, this can never happen. It’s a little bit like courts of law: we don’t allow a lawyer for one side to be the judge, and we work on the theory that the truth is most likely to be uncovered through a process of debate between equals. The debate can only be a fair one if neither side has an unfair advantage.
This is an important point, so if you were daydreaming about Sally in 11th grade, wondering where she is now, snap out of it. She’s a biotherapist in Scottsdale, and a Republican. Now pay attention. Programmers can’t report to program managers which means, among other things, that the development lead, or the CTO, or the CEO, can’t be the person who writes the specs.
The number one mistake most companies make is having the manager of the programmers writing the specs and designing the product. This is a mistake because the design does not get a fair trial, and is not born out of conflict and debate, so it’s not as good as it could be.
This is what has really disgruntled me about where I am at now. It's got to the point where I've stopped arguing and just either do as my "Program Manager" equivalent wants... despite knowing the design is poor or going to bite us in the ass down the road... there is little to no room for debate from me, the "peon"/ programmer.
