Luke Stevens sent me an email this weekend asking if I might write an entry about how a small team like ours manages ideas, tasks, and projects when developing software.  The question is actually slightly loaded because while there are two developers at pMachine (Rick and I), there is actually far more that each of us does through the course of our work that is not development related.  I hesitate to put forth that only about half of my time is focused on active development for our software.

continue...

Let me add that the “freak out” moments are becoming much less common as I learn to adapt to this development style. I learned quickly that instead of wasting my time trying to implement some “project system” that the best thing to do is “create empathy” as Paul Graham would say and then get out of the way. If you haven’t read Hackers and Painters, you should.

Interesting word choice there, Les.

Wow, that’s cool, thanks for writing it up Paul. I really like the idea of ‘independent collaboration’ - the kind of flexibility & independence you guys have is pretty amazing. Also pretty amazing to hear you say “I will start by saying that Rick and I have never worked on a project together”, which you do go on to qualify, but I wouldn’t have thought that was the case given the coherence of EE on the whole. Anyway thanks for the insight!

This is an interesting look into the way you two work.  If someone were to create some great modules, that person would basically be an addition to the team.

I’m also curious about the ergonomics of how you work. I’ve been pixel-pushing for 9 years now and always considered myself quite robust, but the combination of the extreme sedentary lifestyle and the extreme consumption of h20-sucking beverages such as coffee has led me to find it increasingly harder physically to sit at the PC for so long without genuine pain. I’m older probably than many EE users—35—and luckily a Bikram Yoga studio has finally opened here in Rome, and there I am seeking salvation, but it seems to me that this intense stationary staring at screens for much of one’s waking hours can’t be sustainable in the long run unless considered care is taken to look after the Whole Being. PC work also seems to engender an appetite for unhealthy quick-brain-stimulation foods that would seem fairly yucky if work entailed moving about more outdoors.

This is not really related to your thread, though, unless taken in a very large “how we work” context.

A different point: Your method obviously work for pM as it stands—proof is in the pudding—but presumably the company will grow in numbers—slowly perhaps but surely, as EE’s profile must be rising finally, given Core. Is there a plan for devolving the extreme-trust method as more people are involved? or is the extreme-trust the pM internal cultural absolute to which growth and new staffers must adapt?

I think Eliyahu Goldratt’s Critical Chain and more general Theory of Constraints is great stuff for projects, btw. It becomes increasingly relevant I think as teams grow but also for smaller ones.

Adam Khan - 18 March 2006 11:53 AM

I’m older probably than many EE users—35—

Sprite...

38 here, and have been a “sit and look at screens” tech worker of one sort or another for 15 years now.  I’m fortunate to live in “office furniture headquarters” here in West Michigan so was able to score highly ergonomic and adjustable-in-every-which-way office furniture for pennies on the dollar.  I only start to feel discomfort after 12+ hours in the chair.  I also try to get out a couple of times a week and camp out in a coffee shop on wi-fi for the day—just to not always be working in the same position. 

Not being active enough has started to catch up though - starting this year I’ve had to begin a daily run, cutting back on coffee and drinking alot more water.  So far it’s really helped - wieght is down and health is greatly improved.

Hey Michael,

what chair do you recommend? Rick’s got a killer chair and I think Paul just upgraded. I got a special “butt cushion” for mine but I think I should have one that is more ergonomic. Just wondering what you use.

Heh… metal folding chair for me (it does have some cushioning.) I have used it for years.  Pretty comfortable actually.  Maybe I am just used to it.  I am a year older than Paul.

Yeah, I was actually using a wood kitchen table chair until two months ago when I finally splurged and bought myself an Aeron chair.  With the wood chair my bottom would often get sore after about eight or ten hours, and I would get a backache every so often from slouching in it.  The Aeron chair has brought me nothing but relief from both so now I can work for even longer without breaks…

manofsteel - 16 March 2006 07:39 PM

This is an interesting look into the way you two work.  If someone were to create some great modules, that person would basically be an addition to the team.

Seems rather simple in concept, no?

Why only the best, of course... (Disclaimer - the manufacturer is both a client and a former employer, and no I can’t get anyone else the screaming deal I got... )

If you do go the Aeron route though, make sure to get the correct size.  I’m 6’3” and when I first started with HMI they gave me the “B” (middle) size.  I thought it was the most terribly over-rated product the company made.  Later I sat in the “C” (large) size and the difference was incredible.

The Aeron paired with one of these hydraulically height-adjustable workstations is the best setup I’ve ever had. 

For me the best position is with the chair almost all the way down, partially-reclined, with the workstation height set such that the monitors are at a comfy eye-level and the keyboard height to match the arms on the Aeron (keeps my elbows supported).

I use a trackball to minimize hand-movement, but also want to add a mouse on the left side to occasionally give my right hand a break.  My right arm and shoulder is where I start to feel it after long hours.

If you sit a lot...which most of us do, the Aeron is a necessity, not a luxury. Well worth the money.
Have had mine for six years and it’s saved my ass, literally :-)

That chair looks nice… but does it fold up?  Hah… didn’t think so!