Comments on SoCal CTO: Poor Software Developers - Pull the Plug Early

2011-02-27T20:17:01.030-08:00

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2011-02-27T20:15:48.505-08:00

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It has to do with how employees pace themselves wh...

2011-02-17T18:09:48.776-08:00

It has to do with how employees pace themselves when working on a project. When they think most of the work is done, they tend to take it easy.

Tony: As we discussed many times, there is a prob...

2011-02-17T12:31:16.964-08:00

Tony:

As we discussed many times, there is a problem that a lead developer can not solve and that is strategy and setting projects right from the start. However, as we have also discussed, a full time proper CTO also does not make sense at early stage companies.

Your suggestion of a part time CTO or a CTO in an advisory capacity, is the beginning of solving the problem you describe.

Truth is, this situation is taught in basic PM cou...

2011-02-17T10:46:21.294-08:00

Truth is, this situation is taught in basic PM courses. If you look at the project timeline for projects ranging from IT to construction, you see a flat line going into a steep upwards curve going to flatline. Resource planning on most projects do NOT account for this.
I do think this situation is exasperated in software engineering but is not uncommon across multiple disciplines in multiple industries.

@Will - that probably would have been a better way...

2011-02-17T09:55:04.951-08:00

@Will - that probably would have been a better way to have said it, but it's maybe funnier that it adds up to 180% - software is often underestimated. I actually try to give us developers more credit and say the first 90% takes half the work and the last 10% takes the other half (see my prior post). But I've put in the actual adage from someone at Bell Labs if I'm not mistaken.

Cliff - great to hear from you. We should connect at some point - not sure how we aren't seeing each other at those exact kind of networking events.

I will say that entrepreneurs who are non-technical meeting developers at networking events can lead to Founder-Developer gaps. Get the experienced CTO to advise you.

I used to be more shy about this, but now feel like I need to say it more loudly to help entrepreneurs avoid these very painful situations.

You've highlighted several of the biggest chal...

2011-02-17T09:44:30.854-08:00

You've highlighted several of the biggest challenges for would-be Web entrepreneurs.

One of the key benefits for entrepreneurs in attending networking events is to find quality, committed people to complete the team.

It's difficult for the non-technical people on the team to understand how true the formula is: 90% + 90% = launch. This is another reason the team needs an experienced CTO before any development is done.

don't you mean the first 90% takes up 10% of t...

2011-02-17T09:24:54.118-08:00

don't you mean the first 90% takes up 10% of the time, not 90%