Be patient with project problems!

If you tell your management too many problems you've found with their project at once, it overwhelms them. This was a hard lesson I had to learn about most software engineering issues. Software projects are often full of problems, but you need to be patient about how you communicate them!
#softwareengineer #softwaredeveloper

[@CountJamesMcGuigan]

Being patient simply results in management attempting to ignore or stonewall the issue, hoping to avoid responsibility and turn everything into somebody else's problem tomorrow... which is exactly why nothing ever gets done inside a buracracry

[@0UnKnow0v9]

Yeah because spitting down is easier. How dare you pointing out problems while I am sitting on my high horse😅

[@ForgottenKnight1]

Managers don't like when you highlight existing problems. They only get being in the spotlight after they have stolen the credit for "managing" the team to solve problems.

[@awakenthechosen]

This is the kind of bullshit that makes starting a company the goal.

[@stevez5134]

So I’m working on a feature and noticing all these little issues like crashes and things missing. But if I try to add them in my manager says we didn’t groom the PBI and put an effort on it. This happens time and time again and I’m just trying to complete one feature. It may be something like I need to add primary key to the model object because we didn’t have it. But if I try to add it I get called out because I’m not working on my assigned item, I need to explain why we need this change, and on and on. But all I want to do is add 1 line for primary key and move on.

[@sorvex9]

Only applicable if you report to non technical management, which I do not

[@watcher1326]

Sounds like advice that I should more closely follow.

[@0netom]

why do *you*, the programmer, have to be careful? it's part of a programmer's job to clarify problems, otherwise it's not possible to come up with effective solutions to them. if management is incapable of understanding that, it's their loss and the company deserves to fail. unless they change those incompetent managers, of course.

[@moamber1]

It's their loss, but it's you who will be fired. With absolutely no consequences to those who made their software product out of shite, sticks and leap of faith.

[@ForgottenKnight1]

"why do *you*, the programmer, have to be careful?" - if your manager has thin skin and big ego, you either need to be clever enough not to trigger him, or find another job.

[@0netom]

@@ForgottenKnight1 exactly. the solution is NOT to give in and let this kind of stupidity percolate...

[@gdolphy]

If you find problems that can affect you later, add the fix to your time estimates. If they question your estimates, then show them the problems. As long as you touched code near the problem, you will be the first pointed at. Then, pointing out the problem after that just makes you look bad.

[@factorfitness3713]

Presenting problems without proposed solutions or presenting problems that are only problems to that individual are the areas where people mess up here. Just throwing problems out there and waiting for someone else to fix them or misunderstanding what's really important are easy ways to get dismissed as an amateur.

[@ForgottenKnight1]

Just because you identified a problem, does noy mean you automatically also have a solution for it. This fcked up logic seems to be applied by a lot of IT managers, who don't really know how to manage.

[@tropicten]

Presenting issues that you yourself don’t have the ability to fix can be problematic if you’re not very careful with your approach. A manager can view it as someone who is creating more work for them, not fixing things. I’ve seen co-workers be unfairly labeled as disruptive and disgruntled even if all the issues they raised were completely valid. And once people start dismissing you and tuning you out, it’s almost impossible to win them back.

[@josiah_maddux]

Why do so many people in the comments have an issue with this? This is reasonable advice. He's not saying to just ignore most of the problems forever, he's saying to prioritize the more important ones first and to be tactful.

[@HealthyDev]

Binary thinking is a big problem we programmers sometimes have.

[@SweetTorment72]

Some developers are more interested in following all the patterns and writing perfect code, than actually releasing something useful.

[@HealthyDev]

@@SweetTorment72 it’s really a symptom of training companies and universities to set realistic expectations.

[@Jasonlhy]

I would say the biggest root cause is there is so many bad management in software industry

[@vincenthamel3420]

Basically, manager are kids and need to be treated as such.

[@monterreymxisfun3627]

Don't be overly engaged. Just fix your relevant area for your own sense of craftsmanship. I have heard it described as "stay in your lane".

[@dougr550]

This patient word.....can you explain what it means. It is a concept I am clearly not familiar with lol

[@ErnaSolbergXXX]

Or when management knows they have problem with how its done and they fire the developers and hire new ones, just to continue as before

[@vivek.80807]

If management can't take accept the shit they have been living in....why bother working in such places

[@HealthyDev]

What happens when the entire industry is full of those people?

[@vivek.80807]

@@HealthyDev I wish I had an answer, It's really sad and demotivating to see people not caring enough about their craft and management just worsening the problem even more by not even recognizing science-backed/data-supported way to develop software - see DORA reports! It really makes me question common sense of folks in the industry.

[@HealthyDev]

Yeah DORA is cool. We'll never deal with people purely using tools though. Fostering trust, grace, and authentic relationships is the only way to overcome most of these challenges. When engineers are taught (or start listening to me) that this stuff is important, I think we'll see some improvements.

[@RafaelSilva-oi3hp]

The truth will set you free 😅!!

[@SamTipton]

product-led company problems