DeMarco, T. and Lister, T. (2013). Peopleware, 3rd ed.

(2024-07-13). Part I. Managing the Human Resource. pp. 1–34.

2024-07-13. Vienna Waits for You. pp. 13–18.

The Spanish Theory holds that only a fixed amount of value exists on Earth. The English Theory holds that value can be created through ingenuity and technology.

Spanish Theory managers push for longer working hours (maximizing more for an hour of pay) while English Theory managers push for achieving more in an hour of work.

Workaholism is a disease similar to the common cold: short bursts are not fatal but long stretches cause burnout.

Sacrificing quality comes at a cost of higher levels of burnout.

Employees’ personal lives are more important than the work they do. They will sacrifice work if it means more time spent with their families, friends, and meaningful activities. Burnout exacerbates this rule.

Overtime does not exist. Time spent working outside work hours subtracts from the time spent working inside work hours the following workday.

(2024-07-13). Part IV. Growing Productive Teams. pp. 131–172.

(2024-07-13). The Black Team. pp. 139–142.

(2024-07-13). Teamicide. pp. 143–150.

(2024-07-14). Part V. Fertile Soil. pp. 173–220.

(2024-07-14). The Self-Healing System. pp. 175–182.

Deterministic systems are built top-down and are paperwork-heavy. Deterministic systems lack the self-healing factor which nondeterministic systems tend to have.

Nondeterministic systems are run by knowledgeable humans rather than a Methodology. Deterministic systems are run by a Methodology.

Overt cases for deterministic systems:

  1. Standardization
  2. Documentation uniformity
  3. Managerial control
  4. Novel techniques

Covert case for deterministic systems—project people aren’t smart enough to do the thinking.

Main gripes against deterministic systems:

  1. A morass of paperwork—active, ever-growing tendency to spend time documenting work rather than doing the work itself.
  2. A paucity of methods—avoidance of novel approaches to doing work.
  3. An absence of responsibility—the system is at fault for failure.
  4. A general loss of motivation—people lose motivation to work when they aren’t in charge of how they work.

Deterministic systems enable malicious compliance.

A better way of achieving convergence of methods over Methodology:

  1. Training people how to do things and letting them decide what to do.
  2. Automated tools allow for natural convergence to occur.
  3. Peer reviews naturally attract convergence.

Most innovations in productivity are just well-advertised side-effects of the Hawkthorne Effect which naturally degrade in time. Real innovations take decades to prove they work.