I will write you an essay - for free!
March 19th, 2007
Confession: I am in serious essay debt and I need your help to get out.
The story: I made a commitment when I quit MSFT in 2003 to publish an essay a month on the website. That’s 12 a year. Here are my stats:
So I owe the universe or myself (whomever cares more), 9 essays. That’s right. Not to mention the 3 so far this year that haven’t materialized yet.
I have plenty of ideas, but I’m bored with my ideas. I want yours. That way I’m guaranteed at least one person other than myself will give a shit when I post the thing.
So here’s your chance: If you could rent my brain to write something, what would the title of the essay be? What topic do you think I’m chicken to write about? What mean scary question do you want me to answer?
Lets get it on!
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Your biggest mistakes as a professional. And of course lesson to learn for others. We usually share our success stories and even when we share our mistakes they’re most likely minor ones. It’s funny because I believe we learn much more from things we did completely wrong than from things we made well or excellent.
Another idea can be how to create friendly environment in a company/team. A place where everyone want to work in. There’s a lot of things said about Google here. As far as I know Microsoft had also some good ideas in that area.
I strongly prefer the first subject if I have to choose, as I think there would me more to learn. However it’s more personal so I’m not sure if you have guts… ;)
OK, just joking with those guts.
Ideas derived from some of your extant essays:
How to quickly identify a good manager (as the interviewee)
How to get a good interview out of a bad (vague/unclear) interviewer
How to deal with bungee bosses (repeated/frequent managment changes) and how to determine when enough is too much already
Ways to measure project success/failure that don’t come out of one of the standard manuals - “how do I /know/ this made the customer happy?”
Top things that standard metrics overlook
The core elements of good review cycles
What to do when you/a report is highly philosophically opposed to a work item change, but the Powers That Be decree it Shall Be no matter how unsound
Pawel: I definitely have the guts to share my big mistakes, I’m just not sure they’re worthy of their own essay :) Love the suggestion though - thanks!
About a year and a half ago I started to broaden my knowledge on different aspects of handling projects. This in addition to my knowledge I already learned from my bachelor study in computer science. I started out with your book “The Art of Project Management” which I enjoyed very much and has been a great resource for me! After finishing it I started reading more and more on how to successfully guide projects. I finished books like ‘Peopleware’, ‘Pragmatic Programmer’,'Behind Closed doors’, and more, which where all a great help on how to improve myself and how I can be most supportive and productive to colleagues and the company.
I have ‘learned’ how to start projects, create and provide ‘enough’ information so decisions can be made on whether to start a project or not, create motivation around the people who are going to work on the project, support my colleagues when the project is being developed and help them locate and find alternatives to the problems they encounter.
The biggest problem I have is that most of the times I run into problems from the point where we should go into the technical analysis (from requirements to specifications). I know this is the hardest part and it requires the most discipline, but I always seem to fail at this part. I can’t get a straight course on what to do and how to do it. I know enough of different methodology’s and my question is certainly not ‘what methodology is best’. I’d rather see on how to decide what to do from that point? Find a path through the decision on what methodology to choose, find out what parts of a methodology make no sense for this project.
I hope I make some sense here, It’s allways hard to be simple (and short :)
How to get into consultancy work e.g. what sort of background should you have, how should you position yourself with skills, etc.
How to learn from great programmers.
How about “The Invisible Push: Getting Started” and examine ways to motivate yourself when you need to get something started and before a team is in place. It could be for personal projects or things that you want to get started within an organization when the only person that you’re responsible to is yourself. Maybe even simpler it could be “Manging Yourself” or “Motivating a Team of One”.
Now I have a little different taste for your Essays, how about speaking about the Mobile experience and explaining how Mobile Web Browsers UI should work and how would you as a former UI designer would evaluate current Mobile Browsers?
Sounds like something you don’t wanna’ write about? Alright, one thing I was so keen to know is how would MS for example get a UI designed for another culture with a different language and culture, say Arabic or Farsi?
Don’t want no techno? I’m still so keen on knowing how did writing come into your life, did it change your life at all?
How about the whole conflict of working better and faster than coworkers, but still having to fill up all 8 hours.
How to show enthusiasm for the project goals without sounding like a suck-up or making coworkers jealous.
Being a good remote employee.
Being a good remote supervisor.
These might be a llittle off your beaten path, but I’m not familiar with the entirety of your work:
1) 3 steps to creating a world without prisons.
2) Most organizations and institutions that make up a society have stated or at least definable goals, but does any given society have a goal other than perpetuating itself?
3) People have long searched for “univesal” human interests. What are the actual interests of the universe itself.
Thanks for asking for essay suggestions.
Here’s one that’s been on my TODO list for a while:
Trace development of data persistence style from mainframe through RDBMS to OODBMS. Examine added power and flexibility vs. lower performance at each step.
Moore’s law means that we can replace lots of frame apps with current commodity hardware and RDMBMSs, but high-performance apps with extreme concurrency requirements — eg: Amazon — are reinventing frame-style file storage instead of DBs.
See http://www.artima.com/weblogs/viewpost.jsp?thread=188683 : “One way to look at the four main architecture versions is as an evolution. Another way to look at it, however, is as coming full circle: starting with a custom-designed solution, moving to a standards-inspired solution, and then moving again into a custom solution.”
Same thing for languages, see Paul Graham http://www.paulgraham.com/icadmore.html : “Before the rise of the Web, I think only a very small minority of software contained complex algorithms: sorting is about as complex as it got.”
For both data and programming languages, we start out with very domain-dependent solutions. Then as we get more computing power we develop general-purpose solutions that allow us to build more complex systems more easily. Eventually we are working on problems that exceed the limitations of our general-purpose solutions and we go domain-specific again. Until computing power catches up …
Scott, how about writing on “obvious essentials”?
I mean the things that have to be there for a software project (or even for each release), but are so obvious that we don’t even mention them.
Could explode a few myths, and I’d enjoy hearing about real experiences as far as you feel you can share them. (”Last night a release note saved my life” stuff, I think you know what I mean.)
One area I’m increasingly spending time is project management with a distributed team. This isn’t just one building over, but 10 time zones away and is likely to increase as many companies increase their operations in India.
It opens up a whole vein of questions: how do you do effective project management with a distributed and/or off-shore and/or outsourced team? How do you motivate staff when they’re thousands of miles away? etc. etc.
I’ve learned some tips and tricks on my own, but for many people working in large corporate enterprises, this is a growing phenomenon and one not suffciently addressed in literature about project management and software development.
Here are my ideas:
1. How to manage a consulting practice of developers. Very different from having a team of people focused on one company or product. Consulting teams can be on different projects spanning different clients. So do you see an inherent difference in these types of teams compared to teams like the ones ta Microsoft?
2. How to set up and manage a team mentoring program. Is this possible? Or part of a good tech manager’s role?
3. How to organize an office effectively for a manager.
Here’s a good one “Bridging the Gap Between Old World Management Style and New World Team Building”. We still have managers in companies that come from a generation of management by abrasiveness, working with younger and differing style managers who build people and teams. Now that’s gotta be a fun topic.
What should established companies do to avoid getting disrupted?
Why do big companies suck?
I’d be very interested to hear your take on tracking the status of projects. I work in a department that has a lot of small projects constantly swirling about, and it’s a challenge for us to keep up with everything — and not drop the ball!
Do you recommend a tracking system/database for projects in this kind of environment? What data would you track, how much information should be internal, and what should be shared with the client? If multiple departments are involved, should everyone have access?
I stumbled over this for my current book project: what are the reasons that there is only a very small number of female software developers, even less than female project managers? Maybe we would be better off with a larger percentage of women working in that field? Maybe programming is too boring for the ladies? Ok, maybe I’m asking the wrong genderm but I’m sure your network is way larger than mine and I would really love to see some thoughts about this.
Offtopic: Role of Ego in Goal Achievement
I wanted to write something on it but currently I am overloaded with my PhD stuff. So, you are more than welcome to write about it if you want. I like your writing and I am sure you will do a good job. If you decide not to write about it, do let me know so I will keep it in my to-do list :)
Looking forward to read your next essay.
-Rise
Great ideas - particularly the ones that have nothing to do with project management (I don’t think I’ve written an essay about that topic).
However to write some of these I’ll need a brain transplant - “Trace development of data persistence style from mainframe…”? Are you kidding me? :)
How about a take on the difference between project management and design — as observed from your two mailing lists and their discussion and lack thereof. I have a theory that design issues are well-understood and the real problems are just sociology and management, not design per se. Hence the difference in traffic and interesting questions. But you may disagree…
Another one: There’s a glut of book on how to manage for success, how to be a good leader, how to assess company morale and employee engagement, etc. It’s all bogus, just as bogus as most of the lit on innovation (I speak as a former manager). What if managers and executives were democratically elected? How would the business world change, if at all?
:-)
After following your blog and essays for a while, I’ve bought and started reading Art of PM. I’m still at the beginning, but already surprised by how many of its lessons seem to apply to my personal life (as opposed to work matters). Maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised about that, since life is our most important “project”, but this consideration came totally unexpected.
I’m not sure this is non-trivial, interesting or juicy enough to deserve an essay, but I’d like to share anyway.
How about “How to get started in management?” If you’re a new developer with little responsibility or power, how do you get that first step into leadership and management?
> However to write some of these I’ll need a brain transplant -
> “Trace development of data persistence style from
> mainframe…”? Are you kidding me? :)
Heh, why do you think that’s been on my TODO list for so long?
The reason I want that article is that I’m tired of having to sit through the argument about which is “better,” frameworks or one-off solutions. I’ve heard it so many times, and it always goes the same way.
I’d really like a well-researched article that “proves” that it’s all a question of what part of the cycle you’re in: has the hardware just made it possible to go to the next higher level of abstraction, or have your performance requirements just exceeded the limits of your current all-purpose solution?
I guess I’m just going to have to do it myself. [sigh ...]
Hi,
as a project manager on a team with 25 developers i am struggling with the psychology of the single developers and the whole team. I just found the book from Weinberg. But what do you think about the psychologie of software developers.
- they want 100% freedom to do and try what ever they want
- they want a 100% stable environment/requirement/tool
- they want top quality of their tools/ides/specs etc
- they deliver always only 80% of the functionality (the interesting part)
- they act like Primadonnas
Off the top of head with no cross reference to your previous essays (I’ve read most but not all but my memory sometimes fails me!)
- Managing a team of varied skilled people e.g. programmer, BA, UI designed
- Dealing with conflict
- When the customer is right. Managing a negative situation.
- Practical time management
- Tools. There’s more to mgt than Microsoft Project
Your thoughts on:
Book smart vs. street smart
and
Full time masters vs. part time master + work
Oh, and maybe what it takes to write a super cool book :)
Hello Scott,
This relates to your “How to learn from mistakes” essay.
How can you create an work environment that encourage people to make mistakes and learn from them?
How do you strike a good balance between being too reckless and pushing the envelope?
Thanks for all the education,
Miki
Scott,
how far afield are you willing to go in these essays? Besides being a software engineer and a software lead in a Seattle medical device startup, I am also a city councilmember for the City of Woodinville.
The city councils in the past have been composed of ordinary folks who wanted to make our city a better place. In the last election in 2005 three bozos were elected who have turned Woodinville into a laughing stock in the region and a very negative place to be locally.
While the subject is not software per se, it is definitley about the politics and the bozodom that can be found anytime more than two people need to collaborate to make good things happen.
Cafe to take a stab at this topic?
Don
Far afield, please! The further the better.
Thanks everybody who’s offered ideas so far - this is a great list.
How to write good essays people will read?
:P
Hi Scott,
How about something along these lines:
1) How to better integrate work being performed at different sites. This could include the challenges faced during planning, scheduling, tracking, etc…..for such work.
2) You could also talk about setting up a PMO or how to sell the concept to “top management”. I don’t think i have read anything written by you about the advantages of having a PMO.
What do you think?
Thanks,
Karna
How about:
How to avoid a relationship with someone you lustfully desire in the office (is the title too long ?)
Working with nagging teammates.
How to concentrate when your colleague insists on talking to you.
When the design is bad and you have to rewrite - picking pieces of a failed project.
Suggested title:
Helping great ideas breakout of your prison (Research Lab).
Background BS:
Until recently (thanks to some Scoble videos), I had seriously doubted MSFT’s ability for innovations. But looks like the giant still have some juice left. But we are not seeing enough of these great ideas escape to the real world for us to *use*. So I thought of the tile of “A guide to help great ideas escape Microsoft Research.”, but then I thought, lets generalize it.
So it you decide to accept this challenge, you have me as a reader. And I will promise to read your article twice just to increase its readership by 100%. (smile)
Hi Scott,
Since you asked “Far afield, please! The further the better.”
How about something James Dyson related?
* What Dyson can teach North American companies in innovation?
or
* What a guy that failed over 5000 times can teach us?
Just a thought.
Kempton
I would suggest this.
A lot of publishing companies are considering when and how they will go online rather than on paper.
My question is why in the world do people that have succeeded on paper think they have any chances on the web? Really, do they have chances?
Hi Scott,
Very cool site, and PM book!
Here’s a question for you: What project/product/etc. do you FEEL is inspirational? The one I look at is the Apollo Program back in the sixties.
Thanks again for some great ideas, and insights.
-ed
can you write me an 7th grade essay by tomarrow email it to me on the changing role of the monarch from the era of charlemagne through the era of european exploration.
Can you write me a honors 10th grade history essay?
The Essay Promt is …
How did events in Europe impact the foreign and domestic policies of the first four administrations in the early 1800’s, during the American Revolution?
a lesson learned from not looking for love but it is meant to come to you
Is this really true? You write essays for free? Would you write one for me if I gave you a topic? Then give me a copy to turn in?
I have to write a 25-30 page term paper on the History of Event and Meeting planning and the trends that have been picked up throughout the past 20 years. A great resource that I was given is the Successful Meetings website. They have an area for research and have archives of trends that have been picked up.
Whether or not you are interested, please email me. I would be willing to pay $100-$200 dollars…
Thank you!
can you write for me an essay about an ideal world if it is for free because iam not strong in english.please help me