throw4238

I think the ultimate issue is a moral one I'm unsure how to approach.

If companies encroached on my paycheck as much as they do on my time it'd be theft, and time is actually more valuable.

Edit: IANAL disclaimer... I'm sure it's not technically theft here... but it's pressure and I think the metaphor still holds.

Companies setting deadlines and not including developers in discussions is asking them to either: - Stand up for themselves, even though they have less power/don't want to risk their job - Spend more of their precious time on the company

I find myself repeatedly being pushed into the second option, and when I bring any of this up no one wants to tackle it at a systems-level... because the system is working as intended. Taking from those who can't or won't defend themselves seems to be how to be successful in business.

What's a good way to push back without looking like a dick or being shunted?

I agree. I plan to solve them by prepping for tasks more (doing some of my own PM/BA work ahead of time, so I'm more aware of the roadmap), then being sure to pad the estimates more but also back it up because I will have thought the stories through more.

One thing that seems really strange to me, and I think will seem really strange to future generations... is the paternal tone of just about everyone regarding tech these days. The cherry-picking and bad faith arguments are almost insane sometimes.

Yeah I think poor use of logic is most of the problem. No one's 100% logical... but you get pulled into these discussions asking just how quickly you can get this out... and it just repeats. At the start of the project they'll talk tech debt/spikes/whatever... but as you keep going it's just churn and burn and you really have to do extra/free work if you want to inject more quality.

There's definitely a spectrum from trash to gold plating... but most web shops are in 0 danger of wasting time or gold plating.

I understand the need to go faster from a business perspective... what I don't understand is the lying. Why not just tell us what the plan is so we can plan accordingly?

This is definitely a problem. I'm also beginning to believe I should pad the estimate and also tell them "I padded it in case something goes wrong".

Another hard thing to say is 20% of my time is meetings, and those aren't all in 1 block, so I have less time and I'm less efficient.

Finally, I'm beginning to believe you should do your own sprint planning as a dev quick before sprint planning with the group. Otherwise you get talked into half-baked stories with no acceptance criteria and a terribly short estimate.

They want you to keep them honest when it's all theoretical... but not when you're actually doing the work.