Path: utzoo!mnetor!tmsoft!torsqnt!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!mcnc!duke!romeo!crm
From: crm@romeo.cs.duke.edu (Charlie Martin)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Information Systems is an Engineering Discipline
Message-ID: <15624@duke.cs.duke.edu>
Date: 19 Sep 89 13:05:52 GMT
References: <6429@hubcap.clemson.edu> <10835@riks.csl.sony.co.jp> <6043@pbhyf.PacBell.COM> <6198@ficc.uu.net>
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Reply-To: crm@romeo.UUCP (Charlie Martin)
Organization: Duke University CS Dept.; Durham, NC
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In article <6198@ficc.uu.net> karl@ficc.uu.net (Karl Lehenbauer) writes:
>> |>       Put senior, nontechnical management in charge of the project to
>> |>       help ensure that it is finished on time and within budget.
>
>> |>    Rubbish!  Managing a large information system development project is
>> |>    a professional skill requiring significant technical and engineering
>> |>    background.
>
>The question is, what is the job of management?  While I think technical
>decisions should be made by people with an understanding of the technical
>aspects of the project, I think management can often be too involved
>with the technical issues.

Fred Brooks makes an interesting distinction on this question between
the "producer" and "director" --- names chosen by analogy with movies.

The producer role is what is spoken of in the first quotation: get it
done on time and within budget.  The director is in charge of getting a
good product.  They ought, by rights, to be considered equal, and to
understand that they have equal roles in arriving at the desired result.

Clearly, there are some points that have to be settled by negotiation
between producer and director, like buying every programmer a second
workstation (they have two hands, after all).  But in general, the
producer acts as the director's buffer against upper management, and the
director keeps up with the technical details that the fiddling details
of budgets don't leave the producer time for.

I think Brooks talks about these roles reasonably clearly and in depth
in Mythical Man Month.  everyone should read it.

Just don't pay attention to his suggestions about commenting PL/I
programs.
Charlie Martin (crm@cs.duke.edu,mcnc!duke!crm)