Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams

Probably the best book social dynamics in the workplace I have ever read. Alas, it's the only one that I've read. There are many books on management, leadership and social dynamics. I've a few. I know people who have read a lot more. This book cuts across topics discussed in multiple books in much shorter language. This book also ties together topics that other books do not. I, personally, found it easier to read everything from one book quickly rather than figure it out from matching up several ones. Fast read. Well written. Gets to the point. Has a very modern philosophy on teams. ---- Addendum HOWEVER the authors of this book focus primarily on one style of project work, that being working on teams. In fact they focus almost exclusively on a concept I know as "self-directed teams." Other ways groups of people can work together is rarely discussed. Also some of the recommendations will likely not be possible to implement depending on your position in the company. For example, a team manager may not have a say on who is welcome on his/her team. If someone is not working out, he/she may not have the option of getting rid of that person. Also, people who very obviously should not belong on the same team may be forced into that work arrangement despite everyone's protests. HR may do that. It's nice to read that that team won't work, but ... everyone knew that already.

Do not misunderstand the score. The second edition of the book deserves 5 ​​stars. The only reason why I select 4 is because the upgrade and the new material does not significantly reflect the 13 years that have passed since the last edition. This book should be read by all those working in the software industry or intends to. Regardless of the job (software engineer , QA engineer , lead , manager, etc.), this book is full of wisdom and experience that applies to any work environment that everyone must know. Undoubtedly, it can be classified as a classic. This is in the top-10 books that everyone who has a job related to software development should read. The only downside is that I hoped that this edition include more analysis and ideas after the big agile movement in the last decade. There are some comments but not a rich analysis. This edition is only a very small upgrade to the great classic. A new book that is emerging as a great complement candidate to this classic is " Managing the Unmanageable: Rules, Tools, and Insights for Managing Software People and Teams ". I have not finished reading it, but so far looks promising.

In short - it is a book on how to treat people. Written for managers in software companies (can be generalized to all companies which expect their employees to do creative work), in my opinion it can be read just by anybody, even if only to raise awareness of toxic workplaces. The authors have written “Peopleware” basing on their vast consulting experience for software firms, as well as their experiments and survey-based research. The book’s title signifies the importance of employees; the prevalent message is that most of problems in software projects are not related to technology, but relations between people. Bad atmosphere, working overtime, context switching - these are much more likely to make a project miss its deadline than tools and technologies used by the team. A considerable portion of text is focusing on bad practices, found in many corporations and oftentimes excused as “necessary evil” or “politics”. Chapters are short, with examples from many companies (negative stories are anonymous). In its form, the book is a series of meaningful essays, written in informal, humorous way. It is absolutely worth mentioning, that this title is *not* about methodologies of project management, nor project performance or software tools. They are downplayed on purpose; in industries which demand creativity, people are most important. As the authors are focused on human aspects (thinking, emotions, psychology, interactions), “Peopleware” will always be relevant. The first edition was published in 1987, I am confident that it did not require much revision since then. My favourite chapter is on team creation - there is no golden rule which guarantees that a team will perform better than sum of its parts, however there are numerous surefire ways to make it perform worse. The positive examples are revolving around motivated people, aligned with general goals of their companies, then let loose on finding solutions on their own. Managers are supposed to be obstacle removers, not dictators. If companies were adhering to postulated recommendations, many, many people would be able to say that their work is pleasure. Please read it, then put it on your manager’s desk :)

This is a must-read for every professional software engineer, even if you don't have aspirations to become an engineering manager. This book will help you understand the mindset of typical business bureaucrats and teach you how to present your ideas to these types of people so that you can get the tools (and time) you need to do your job right. If you do want to become an engineering manager, the book will also show you how to protect your developers from unnecessary distractions and how to retain developers who could get a high-paying job anywhere they like. The world of software development is becoming increasingly more important as computer technology improves and we desperately need better software engineers. Don't let yourself become a 'hack,' sitting in meetings all day and never writing a single line of code; free yourself from distractions, achieve your programming 'flow' and make the software engineering world a better place by reading this book!

Best practices are always a moving target. A better strategy is to continuous experimentation and improvement I think. This book has some ideas well worth trying.

Some situations that happen in my company were illustrated with such clarity and a new way to think about it that I most certainly will try to handle in a different direction after reading this book.

I went through my SCRUM Master certification a few weeks ago and this was one of the "further reading" recommended. I have been a software developer for almost 30 years and have witnessed first hand so many "failures" (or so called "successes" that should have been labelled failures) that it is so refreshing to see that it does not have to be so complicated. This should be mandatory read to anyone managing software projects. It does not take long to read and would have improved so much most projects I participated in. Well worth the time and money

It's a classic about the non-techincal issues the people in IT used to face and sometimes still face today. It's written in a very funny way and helps you to think about your working environment.

I waited too long to read this book. Recommended whether you're a manager or not.

I know about the book since more than 20 years, but I have only recently read it. What can I say - it is everything I had hoped for. After 20 years in the corporate world, I recognized a lot of the cases shown there. “Peopleware” is like a documentary of the corporate world, showing for each of the “don’t”s a potential solution. But those solutions are seldom within the power of simple engineers or even first level middle managers. One case in point is the open office. While we have studies going back decades that show that open offices are basically the places where creativity goes to die - and this book identifies them rightly so - we live in a time and age where every middle manager and their mother vouch for open offices being a catalyst for communication and productivity. In conclusion, the book is excellent and in the very least it excels even at providing a mental escape route for those of us who feel the burden of all the crazy hurdles that modern corporate world throws at us with the aim of making us more productive. It is also a book which will make you think and analyse your own standing. Highly recommended.