Human Factors in Software Production Part 1

The content of this article (divided into two parts) actually has little to do with software production. Although methodologies and tools are important in production, the more critical issues lie in organization and people, which are not limited to software production alone.

The efficiency brought by tools is only applicable to mechanical, low-value repetitive tasks that require no wisdom. The efficiency improvement from tools is secondary. The primary issue to address is the efficiency of organizations and individuals, which is an extremely challenging task.

This topic is vast, and here I merely present my rudimentary understanding of it.

The Limitations of Individuals

The existence of organizations is due to the limitations of individual capabilities. Individuals can accomplish tasks, but only small ones. To achieve something significant, reliance on others is necessary.

“Capability” refers to “things one is good at”, which is “skill”.

Most people can only excel in one or two areas and become so-called “experts” in those fields. This is because skills require long-term training and practice to reach a level of proficiency. To accomplish a significant task, collaboration among people with different “capabilities” is essential; it is nearly impossible to rely solely on one person.

“Capability” is also the sum of “energy”, “time”, and “efficiency”.

To complete a task, a fixed amount of work is required, and it must often be done within a specific timeframe to be effective, which is the “window of opportunity”—miss it, and the opportunity is lost.

With a fixed minimum workload and a known deadline, the next step is resource allocation.

Generally, unless there is absolute certainty, it is unlikely that one person can complete the task, as people often underestimate the complexity of a task, even if it appears simple.

Hofstadter's Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.

Aside from the inherent complexity of the task itself, there are many uncertainties associated with the people involved—menstrual leave, accompanying childbirth, family matters, low mood, and so on.

Ideology

The thoughts and perceptions of people within an organization are crucial in determining overall efficiency. The so-called genes, culture, and values of a company are manifestations of this organizational ideology.

People-oriented Approach

An organization is a system composed of people. To function normally and efficiently, it is essential to manage each individual as a constituent element—understand “people”, get to know them, and utilize them effectively.

As members working together, they are resources, but they are “people”, not “tools” or “beasts of burden”. They deserve respect, understanding, care, and thoughtful treatment. An organization needs to show humanistic concern.

Apart from the founders, others join for a living and to develop themselves in the desired direction. These basic needs of the people should be valued by organizational leaders, who should provide them with returns commensurate with their capabilities and contributions, rather than trying to exploit them in every way possible.

Apart from the founders, everyone else is an employee. Even with hierarchical differences, they are still equal to one another. Do not be deceived by your title and the little “power” you hold, or you may fall into the trap of bureaucracy. Otherwise, you might feel momentarily satisfied, but you will affect the entire organizational atmosphere and reduce efficiency.

Even if an organization can be an emotionless machine, if each person within it feels the warmth of the organization, they will work with a more positive attitude, creating a good atmosphere and thereby improving organizational efficiency, since humans are emotional beings.

People are the elements that constitute an organization, and their morale is the most important factor affecting organizational efficiency.

Foolish organizations will use every means to exploit for the benefit of the founders; smart organizations will sacrifice some of the founders’ interests to be fair to others; and “astute” organizations will protect the core leadership, treating others as replaceable cogs in the machine.

Why is “astute” in quotation marks? Because it appears clever but is actually foolish—it fosters bureaucratic tendencies, creates class conflicts, and disregards the interests of the majority within the organization.

Win-win Cooperation

People are selfish and prioritize their own interests when taking action, and so are organizations composed of people. This is understandable. However, if one only thinks about satisfying their own interests, or even deliberately harms the interests of others, their path will become narrower and it will be difficult to achieve great things.

Therefore, whether it is between individuals, between individuals and organizations, or between organizations, to accomplish something or to make the organization efficient, there needs to be a sense of cooperation.

The premise of cooperation is that participants must have a common “big goal”—the intersection of their individual “small goals”, which is the point of interest convergence. If a task offers little benefit to one or several participants, they will not choose to cooperate.

Given this, I believe that the so-called “cooperative consciousness” mainly consists of two aspects: First, understanding the limitations of individuals and knowing that collaboration within an organization is necessary to achieve significant goals; second, being willing to share the fruits of joint efforts, trying to meet the interests of collaborators, and sometimes even sacrificing immediate interests for greater potential gains in the long run.

Most relationships between people are essentially cooperative, whether they are between employees and companies, in marriage, or among friends. Efforts should be made to achieve mutual benefits and maximize individual interests, rather than engaging in exploitative or zero-sum games.

Summary

An organization is composed of individuals, and although its consciousness and wisdom transcend that of individuals, it cannot ignore or forget the will and needs of individuals, which would be to deny the very foundation of the organization.

An organization is composed of individuals, and its actual operations are determined by its thoughts and ideology, just like a person. This article focuses on the main aspects of ideology, while the next part will discuss how to take action.