sbruny

Yes, I share those experiences. Lots of business-decisions are counter-productive to us software-people. Maybe it's because software is a kind of craft, with art and engeneering qualities, that is hard to reason about correctly, if you are not "into it".

Short term business decisions, like outsourcing, may indicate a need for higher liquidity within an accute financial situation (which is common for small companies). I think most managers know the longer term risks, but are somehow forced to do so.

However, I see us "software people" in charge to change the situation, by insiting on disciplines, like knowlegde-sharing, proper testing, etc. Maybe germany needs a better IT-community...

Following this thread now for I while, I need to give my few cents:

1. Management - I've worked in lots of german companies from all sizes. I'd say the bigger the company is, the more hierarchical is the structure. I think this is a natural thing to happen. But, saying "most German organizations are shaped like a pyramid" is not completely correct. Every company has it's individual shape. And I can tell, I've worked in rather large companies following fairly modern approaches (sattelite-structures, flat-democratic structures, etc.). The claim of "the pyramid" sounds like a biased conception to me, but I'd be interested in studies about german company structures (anyone?).

2. missing tools - this is just untrue. Of course email is still important, but we're using Git/Slack/Jira/Whatever-is-cool-right-now, in germany, too. Also, there is nothing wrong with Excel or MS Project.

3. outdated infrastructure - TRUE! We have a big problem with infrastructure, especially in rural areas (where rent is cheap and overall life quality quiet good). The goverment decided to invest in fibre-technology, though. Maybe a bit late. LTE/Mobile is still lacking and more expensive than in other european countries. If we don't improve this, it will be a big risk for our economy in the future.

4. lack of talent - now this is very interesting. Personally, I think talent is passion compared with experience over time. Our educational system is (not great, but...) good enough. However, I've never seen a great programmer popping out of college/univeristy. The most "talented" folks, I met, often are in their late 30s, 40s and above. They mostly understand business, programming and people-work better than younger collegues. Yet, german companies are suffering from age-discrimination like in other nations, too. For this point, I'd like to refer to Robert C. Martin, by saying we need more discipline in our craft. Instead of hiring 10 graduates, better hire 3 veterans. Because the mess, unexperienced programmers leave behind, will make companies want to hire even more of them, producing even worse software, so managent gets an impression of having not enough people. (get my point)?

I'm a freelancer, too. But, I don't think this leads to massive "brain-drain" within a company, when working with lots of freelancers. Let's take a look at our jobs and how we treat our clients. Mostly we'll be (somehow) integrated into a team of developers. As a freelancer, I'm hired, because I'm an expert in my field of profession. So while working with the team, I'll share my knowlegde with them, so they can profit from my expertise in longer terms.

What I miss in germany, is developers of ability, sharing their experience in public. Whenever I look for inspiration/learning/ressources, it's guys like Robert C. Martin, Martin Fowler or Kent Beck with the best material.

I can't believe that our country doesn't have a few of such minds, too.

That's too simple. What you are describing, may be a symptom, but not the cause of issues withing germany's IT-industry. As the article states, 'hierarchical' structures are still a common thing in german companies. On the other hand, lots of those companies are much older than Google for example. They've been successful with their model for decades. Also germany is a big enough market for itself; the need to compete internationally is not strong (yet).

And: conservatism isn't bad per se. For many people it means a kind of safety and familarity. Maybe for most folks, it's more important to have a good dayjob that supports their families, than to follow the "arrogant academic" into unkown waters...