RE: Where do we belong?

[david -dot- locke -at- amd -dot- com]

I've always worked for development in terms of the functional side of the
matrix. But, in my experience, if I need a UI fixed, I can't just ask a
developer to fix it. They will be hurt personally by my suggestion. The best
way to get it fixed is to convince the product manager. Once that is done,
the programmers fix it as directed. The fact that the suggestion came from
me never comes up, so my relationships with the programmers are not damaged.

Now, what I'm saying about programmers is a general statement. I once caught
a mutual exclusion problem that was implemented with checkboxes. When I
pointed this out to the programmer, he found that he omitted a condition. He
said a second set of eyes was a good thing. I've also worked with
programmers that say they do functionality, and don't know anything about
UI. And, I've had a programmer lead tell me to do what she says. There was
no product manager in this particular organization, so the bad UIs stayed
broken.

You can market through specifics. If you keep this in mind, you should have
no problem if you happen to report to marketing. 

Every organization has its informal chain of command. It is built on
personal relationships. Software startups are generally built by people that
already have personal relationships with each other. Rarely, are the initial
VPs found in a recruitment search. Build your own relationships. Don't count
on the formal chain of command. Then, you won't have to worry about who your
report to. 

It has taken me nine months to find the person I should have been reporting
to in the first place. Try to get someone to give you a tour of the
company's informal organizational structure early on. I have been reporting
to project managers. It turns out that they don't the power to make problems
go away.

David



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