Pitfalls Programmers Should Avoid
Peter Wayner recently outlined the fifteen worst ways to kill programming productivity in a slideshow for InfoWorld. The slideshow is definitely amusing and can be enlightening, but it falls short in providing solutions for these programming pitfalls.
Pitfall #1: Meetings
Meetings are a necessary evil for nearly all companies. While they can bring everyone together and better organize a plan of action, they can become a tool for attention by talkative coworkers and managers. The fix can be simple: Embrace a meeting agenda and aggressively stick to it.
Pitfall #2: Reply-All Emails
Reply-all emails are popular for people trying to cover their liabilities, but it’s also a popular time waster. Wading through lists of emails with no discernible subject lines can be confusing and a waste of energy. So, what’s the fix? Adopt an in-house chat system that records conversations or opt to send parties a CliffsNotes version of what’s happening in the project at the end of each day.
Pitfall #3: Distraction-Rich Environments
As modern open-workspace environments grow in popularity, some have noted the downsides to ditching cubicles. Noise, lack of rules, and invasion of personal space frequently make open offices productivity killers. However, if done correctly, they can be tremendous morale boosters and foster innovative collaboration.
Pitfall #4: Forcing Culture
Forcing workers to fit into specific roles can be common in workplaces. But demanding an introvert be the lead on communication can be a recipe for failure. Highlighting and understanding your team's strengths when it comes to personalities can go a long way toward the success of a project and team relations.
Pitfall #5: Measuring Productivity
Knowing how well programmers are performing is desirable information. But if you consider making the number of lines of code a programmer writes the gold standard for a productive workday, you’ll find that projects might begin to feature overengineered code and repetitive lines of fluff coding as programmers become more concerned with creating new lines of code than working existing code. A successful workday should be more about having a positive impact rather than raw output.
Do any of these pitfalls apply to your company? Do you have solutions to these pitfalls? Tell us in the comments.
Check back tomorrow for Part 2 of Program Productivity Pitfalls.
