Debugging the development process
by Steve Maguire · first published 1994
75% recommend25% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Practical management advice for software teams, with concrete tactics like quick estimates given as ranges and ways to stay focused and ship. Suits engineering managers and working developers alike.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"In Debugging the Development Process, Maguire describes the sometimes controversial but always effective practices that enabled his software teams at Microsoft to develop high-quality software - on schedule. With the refreshing candor reviewers admired in Writing Solid Code, Maguire talks about what did and what didn't work at Microsoft and tells you how to energize software teams to work effectively - and to enjoy their work; why you might want to kick your star programmer off your team; how to avoid corporate snares and overblown corporate processes; which tiny changes produce major results
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…managing people - they are not a panacea, but I'm shocked at how few people in these positions have heard of them, let alone read them. For example, the Microsoft Press books form the 90s are great. Debugging the Development Process, Software Project Survival Guide, Writing Solid Code, Rapid Development, and then books like The Mythical Man-Month, and Peopleware. Just a passing familiarity is all I ask. But no. Favored people and…
on “Get Shit Done: The Worst Startup Culture” ↗…to go into in a thread, and would include some kind of conversation figuring out where you are technically. "I'm a SWE" doesn't begin to cover it.) Without any thought at all: - One Minute Manager - Debugging the development process - The Culture Code - The Five Dysfunctions of a Team - Difficult Conversations Take some negotiation and interviewing hands-on courses.
on “Ask HN: Books to read when you transform from SWE into SWE Management?” ↗…together and develop good software", I think it has excellent viewpoints and advice for any workplace where people use their brains for a living, regardless of what the company does. I'd also like to add "Debugging the Development Process: Practical Strategies for Staying Focused, Hitting Ship Dates, and Building Solid Teams" by Steve Maguire.
on “Ask HN: How to Be a Good Technical Lead?” ↗Look for all these at Amazon: Death March PeopleWare Debugging the development process Rapid Development Software Project Survival guide If you are a CTO you should probably read them all. The most important book for software development management is: The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli…
on “New CTO. How do I manage developers and report to CEO?” ↗Why would you bet that? We have a broad understanding of how to structure and write software. These ideas have been collected together in books. I refer to books like Code Complete, Debugging the Development Process, Clean Code, Refactoring, Programming Pearls, Beautiful Code, and so on. Then there are the language specific books. I don't believe you can craft well written C++ without reading Scott Meyers' books…
on “The code culture problem” ↗In "debugging the development process," the author recommends the method of "make a quick estimate, then give a range between that and 5x that. Suggest that the estimate can be made narrower only with significant additional scheduled work."…
on “How to respond when you are asked for an estimate?” ↗…didn't "fit their culture". So I thanked them and moved on. Better for them, better for me. I personally want people who are effective, and can put in a solid day of work. I still pull wisdom from, "Debugging the Development Process" back from 1994. I think it still holds true today for many aspects of software engineering. Or am I really an outdated curmudgeon?
on “Jeff Bezos' advice: Don't aim for work-life balance; it's a circle” ↗Perhaps this: Steve Maguire: Debugging the Development Process: Practical Strategies for Staying Focused, Hitting Ship Dates, and Building Solid Teams (1994) http://www.amazon.com/Debugging-Development-Process-Practica... edit: Or maybe it was Steve McConnell's…
on “Investigate switching away from GitHub” ↗…read both, and while Code Complete covers a LOT of ground, I like Maguire's style and his practical information. I wouldn't want to be without Code Complete, but Writing Solid Code (and his followup, Debugging the Development Process) has plenty of decent info. And some dated. Much of Maquire's coverage is VERY C++ centered, so people using anything else are going to skip a bunch. It's a short book, 250 or so pages, and an easy read.
on “Books Programmers Don't Really Read (2008)” ↗