Original link: https://ourai.ws/posts/human-factors-in-software-production-part-1/
The content of this article (divided into the first and the second part) actually has nothing to do with software production. Although the methodology and tools are very important in production, the more important thing is the issue of organization and people. However, such issues are not limited to software production.
The efficiency improvement brought by tools is only applicable to mechanical low-value repetitive work that does not require intelligence. The efficiency improvement brought by tools is secondary. The first thing to solve is the efficiency of organizations and people – this is very difficult. thing.
This topic is very large, and I only explain my superficial understanding of it here.
personal limitations
The reason for the existence of an organization is that the ability of individuals is limited, and individuals can accomplish things, but they are all small things, and to do bigger things, you have to rely on others—
“Ability” means “what you are good at”, that is, “skill”.
Most people can only be good at one or two things and become so-called “experts” in that regard, because skills require long-term training and practice to achieve the level of “excellence”, and to achieve a bigger thing needs to be different “Ability” people cooperate, it is not enough to rely on one person alone.
“Capacity” refers to the sum of “energy”, “time” and “efficiency”.
To accomplish a task requires a fixed amount of work, and it is often only effective within a certain time limit, which is the “window period” – after this village, there will be no store.
The minimum workload is fixed, the deadline is known, and the next step is resource allocation.
Generally speaking, unless there is absolute certainty, it is likely that one cannot do it, because people always underestimate the complexity of a thing, even if it seems to be very simple-
Hofstadter’s Law: Doing things always takes longer than you expect, even if your expectations take into account Hofstadter’s Law.
Hofstadter, ” Gödel, Escher, Bach: The Compendium of Different Pieces “
Apart from the inherent complexity of things, there are many uncertainties for the people involved—the aunt has to accompany the delivery, there is something at home, the mood is bad, and so on.
ideology
The thoughts and cognitions of people in an organization are the most important factors affecting the overall efficiency. The so-called genes, culture and values of an enterprise are the embodiment of the organization’s ideology.
people oriented
An organization is a system of people, and to function properly and efficiently, it is necessary to control everyone as a constituent—understand “people,” understand them, and make good use of them.
As a part of doing something together, although they are resources, they are “people”, not “tools” and “animals”, and should be respected, understood, cared for, and treated with heart – organizations need humane care .
Other than the founder(s) of the organization, everyone else joins for nothing more than to live and exercise themselves in the direction they want to develop. The basic demands of these people, the leaders of the organization should pay attention to, and give them a return commensurate with their ability and the value they create, instead of trying to squeeze them in every way.
Except for the founder(s) of the organization, everyone else is a part-time worker, and even if there are different levels, they are still equal to each other. Don’t be fooled by your title and the little bit of “power” in your hands, and fall into the bureaucracy’s trap, otherwise you may be happy for a while, but it will affect the atmosphere of the entire organization and reduce the efficiency of the organization.
Although the organization can be a ruthless and cold machine, if everyone who constitutes the organization feels the warmth of the organization, they will work with a more positive attitude, so that the entire organization has a good atmosphere, thereby improving organizational efficiency. After all, people have feelings.
People are the elements that constitute the system of the organization, and the human heart is the most important factor affecting the efficiency of the organization.
Stupid organizations will use all means to squeeze in the interests of the founder(s); smart organizations will try to be fair to others even at the expense of the founder(s); and “smart” organizations will protect the The leadership in the core position, others are the screws, and if they fail, they will be replaced.
Why put “shrewd” in quotation marks? Because it looks smart, but it’s actually stupid – to promote bureaucracy, to create class contradictions, and to ignore the interests of the people who occupy the majority of the organization.
win-win
People are selfish, and they will give priority to their own interests in doing things, especially in organizations composed of people. This is understandable. However, if you only want to satisfy your own interests, or even deliberately harm the interests of others, your path will become narrower and narrower, and it will be difficult to accomplish great things.
Therefore, whether it is between individuals and individuals, between individuals and organizations, or between organizations, in order to do things or make the organization you work in become efficient, you need to have a sense of cooperation.
The premise of cooperation is that the participants have a common “big goal” – the intersection of their “small goals”, that is, the point of interest. If one or several of the participants have little success in doing something, they will not choose to cooperate.
In view of this, I think the so-called “cooperative awareness” mainly refers to two aspects: one is to understand the limitations of the individual, and to know that great things can be accomplished by forming an organization with others; Satisfy the interests of collaborators, sometimes even sacrificing immediate interests for their own greater potential interests.
Most of the relationships between people are essentially cooperative relationships, whether it is employees and companies, marriages or friends, etc., should strive to achieve a win-win situation and maximize their respective interests, rather than zero-sum games such as exploitation and squeezing. .
summary
Organizations are composed of individuals. Although the consciousness and wisdom of the organization are above the individual, the will and needs of the individual cannot be ignored and forgotten, which is equivalent to denying the foundation of the organization.
Organizations are composed of individuals, so the actual operation of organizations will be determined by their thoughts and ideologies like people. This article focuses on the main aspects of ideology, and the next part will explain how to act.
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