Two worlds or "engineers have something to say." About the various types of complex tasks and processes associated with them
I think the heads of departments of the IT department will agree with me that sometimes it seems that we are on the border of two worlds living according to different laws, in different temporal rhythms, and we have to live in both these worlds. And, if we broadcast the “way of life” from top to bottom, from senior managers to engineers, we, by virtue of our official duties, carry out regularly, but in the opposite direction - alas ...
Therefore, this post that I, as an engineer, want to say to our dear managers and those who consider their “way of life” as the only true one. :)
Planning, Gantt charts, “following the process,” discipline, deadline, routine, “I don’t explain the same thing two times,” “I don’t have time, I’m not planning well” ... - familiar things? These are the entities and methods of the “world of managers”. It is clear that somewhere more, somewhere less and generally simplification, but it is not about this world. He is certainly important. His methods work great in many things. But there is a huge layer of tasks where none of this works, but something completely different, sometimes the opposite, works.
I will explain my thought.
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All complex tasks can be divided into two classes. I will call them English complex and difficult. From the names it is more or less clear what this is about, but I will formulate it.
Complex task is a task consisting of many elementary subtasks. Elementary in the sense that the result is known, methods of solving are known, the amount of resources they require and the time to complete them. The complexity of the complex task lies in the fact that it requires, for example, the participation of various people, specialists, teams and their actions must be coordinated, but each specific action is completely understandable and predictable. A good example is building a house. And here the receptions of the “world of managers” work perfectly.
But when we talk about an difficult task, this is a task with an uncertain result, and this uncertainty can be to the point that it is unclear whether there is a solution, and if there is, what it is, how much time and resources this task will take. This is a study. In this case, we are not talking about the creation of a fusion reactor, but about the daily in the “world of the engineer”.
New software, new feature, new bug, setting up new equipment, building a new architecture, testing new solutions, creating a new product ... It is not necessary that nobody knows it. It is enough that it is not known to the team and it is not so easy to find documentation.
Of course, the “world of the engineer” consists not only of this, there are complex components here, but this is an essential part of it, or you are not exactly an engineer.
And in this world, completely different processes work. And it is important to understand. Here are some examples of what methods work when solving difficult problems.
A completely different world, right?
Does this mean that you can’t plan at all? No, it does not mean. Usually, it is possible to estimate the probability of implementation and time, but this is only a probability and only an estimate.
Does this mean that anarchy should reign in the department? No, it does not mean. In the department, of course, the processes of complex tasks that are in the department and in which the department participates must be observed. And this is the task of the leader to be able to combine these two worlds.
In order to skillfully solve difficult problems, serious skills are needed. Usually, this is an innate ability and love for such tasks, plus long-term (usually from childhood) training (problem solving - math, programming, “picking” in the computer ...). And I believe that only an engineer with the skills to solve difficult problems can be a strong engineer. And during the interview in our department, we were looking for just such.
The ability to solve complex problems is more accessible. Here, too, the tendency of character is important, but if this tendency is there, then mastering skills is not so difficult.
You can be quite a successful manager at your hierarchy and not having the skills to solve difficult problems. There are many such positions. But the real leader in the IT world, I think, will be difficult.
That's why.
A strong manager is a rare combination of these two worlds. Usually, people either go to one or the other.
If the world of difficult tasks is closed for you, then I would advise you to learn how to love and appreciate a team from another world and this world will thank you.
Therefore, this post that I, as an engineer, want to say to our dear managers and those who consider their “way of life” as the only true one. :)
Planning, Gantt charts, “following the process,” discipline, deadline, routine, “I don’t explain the same thing two times,” “I don’t have time, I’m not planning well” ... - familiar things? These are the entities and methods of the “world of managers”. It is clear that somewhere more, somewhere less and generally simplification, but it is not about this world. He is certainly important. His methods work great in many things. But there is a huge layer of tasks where none of this works, but something completely different, sometimes the opposite, works.
I will explain my thought.
')
All complex tasks can be divided into two classes. I will call them English complex and difficult. From the names it is more or less clear what this is about, but I will formulate it.
Complex task is a task consisting of many elementary subtasks. Elementary in the sense that the result is known, methods of solving are known, the amount of resources they require and the time to complete them. The complexity of the complex task lies in the fact that it requires, for example, the participation of various people, specialists, teams and their actions must be coordinated, but each specific action is completely understandable and predictable. A good example is building a house. And here the receptions of the “world of managers” work perfectly.
But when we talk about an difficult task, this is a task with an uncertain result, and this uncertainty can be to the point that it is unclear whether there is a solution, and if there is, what it is, how much time and resources this task will take. This is a study. In this case, we are not talking about the creation of a fusion reactor, but about the daily in the “world of the engineer”.
New software, new feature, new bug, setting up new equipment, building a new architecture, testing new solutions, creating a new product ... It is not necessary that nobody knows it. It is enough that it is not known to the team and it is not so easy to find documentation.
Of course, the “world of the engineer” consists not only of this, there are complex components here, but this is an essential part of it, or you are not exactly an engineer.
And in this world, completely different processes work. And it is important to understand. Here are some examples of what methods work when solving difficult problems.
- the engineer needs to dive into the task. He can not be distracted every 15 minutes. Sometimes, a dive can be so all-consuming that it can not sleep or sleep badly, “suffer” the task for several days or weeks or months. This is an important quality of a strong engineer. He cannot calm down until he decides. He needs to be given time, given an opportunity to concentrate and, possibly, exclude for a while from various periodic processes.
- in these conditions it is strange to demand from an engineer that he strictly live according to a schedule. And this is understood in the research institutes (at least in the place where I worked), this is understood, for example, at Fiztekh - both there and there is a free visit.
- it is clear that the word “discipline” in solving problems of this type here already has a different meaning. This is not even a discipline, but rather a passion. The creative process, brainstorming, discussion, interest in the result - this is the glue that replaces discipline in solving this type of problems.
- it is clear that all time dependencies here are also significantly weakened, it is difficult to insert a difficult task into a strictly regulated time process
- not how smoothly (with observance of all conventions and procedures) the task is performed, but simply the fact of solving the problem is encouraged. Words like “you stayed for 2 days” should not be used here. If deadlines are important, then you just need to decide at what point to stop and not spend more resources.
- You can not judge a person for the fact that he could not solve the problem. Even a very strong specialist can go the other way and he can spend a lot of extra time. In many ways, the solution of such problems is a search of options, and it’s not a fact that you quickly choose the right one.
- If an engineer is stuck, you cannot leave him alone - you need help from either the leader or the whole team.
A completely different world, right?
Does this mean that you can’t plan at all? No, it does not mean. Usually, it is possible to estimate the probability of implementation and time, but this is only a probability and only an estimate.
Does this mean that anarchy should reign in the department? No, it does not mean. In the department, of course, the processes of complex tasks that are in the department and in which the department participates must be observed. And this is the task of the leader to be able to combine these two worlds.
In order to skillfully solve difficult problems, serious skills are needed. Usually, this is an innate ability and love for such tasks, plus long-term (usually from childhood) training (problem solving - math, programming, “picking” in the computer ...). And I believe that only an engineer with the skills to solve difficult problems can be a strong engineer. And during the interview in our department, we were looking for just such.
The ability to solve complex problems is more accessible. Here, too, the tendency of character is important, but if this tendency is there, then mastering skills is not so difficult.
You can be quite a successful manager at your hierarchy and not having the skills to solve difficult problems. There are many such positions. But the real leader in the IT world, I think, will be difficult.
That's why.
- such a manager often does not understand, and that’s why he doesn’t appreciate people who are able to solve difficult problems. So, he will not have strong engineers.
- The manager certainly has to solve difficult problems in the general case. For example, be defined with goals, or create working processes. This is a difficult task. The trouble is that the manager may think that it is simple, due to the fact that he does not see the depth of the problem and creates goals and processes on the fly, but upon detailed examination they do not work.
A strong manager is a rare combination of these two worlds. Usually, people either go to one or the other.
If the world of difficult tasks is closed for you, then I would advise you to learn how to love and appreciate a team from another world and this world will thank you.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/432566/
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