S A M E T H I N G H A P P E N S E V E RY T I M E : M A N A G E M E N T, M O V I E S , & M Y T H O L O G Y

PA U L M . J O N E S • @ P M J O N E S • J O I N D . I N / E V E N T / M A D I S O N P H P 2 0 1 5

A B O U T M E

• 8 years USAF Intelligence

• BASIC in 1983, PHP since 1999

• Jr. Developer, VP Engineering

• ZF1, Aura, Relay, Radar

• PSR-1, PSR-2, PSR-4

• mlaphp.com

PAT T E R N S I N S O F T W A R E

T H E C A M P B E L L M O N O M Y T H

– H E I N L E I N , Q U O T I N G R U T H E R F O R D

There is only one science. It is called physics. Everything else is stamp-collecting.

PAT T E R N S I N M O V I E S

S TA R W A R S , P R I N C E S S B R I D E , T R O N , T H E M A T R I X , S TA R T R E K , T H E H U N G E R G A M E S , H A R R Y P O T T E R , T H E L A S T A I R B E N D E R ( T V )

T W O G U Y S A N D A G I R L

• A strong independent woman and two dudebros

• Not strictly Campbell but common in modern hero(ine) stories

PA R E N T T R O U B L E

A L O N E I N T H E W O R L D

O L D M A N A S M E N T O R

G I F T O F ( M A G I C A L ) A S S I S TA N C E

B I G H A I R Y H E L P E R

E V I L R U L E R & E N F O R C E R

Y O U ’ V E S E E N I T; Y O U C A N ’ T U N S E E I T

• Basic introduction to Campbell

• Observational, not predictive

• You’re going to see it everywhere

• Delight in discovery and recognition

• Make sense of stories (and life)

PAT T E R N S I N T E A M S

“ U T I L I TA R I A N ” V S “ A C A D E M I C ”

T I M E O R I E N TAT I O N

• Future-oriented: “first do it right, refactor as needed”

• “Academic”, detailed, patterns, abstracts, layers, interfaces, testing

• Present-oriented: “first get it done, then make it faster”

• “Utilitarian”, rapid, “simple”,prove that I need it, do the least needed

A N E C E S S A R Y T E N S I O N

• What is practical depends on what you want to practice.

• Highly adapted systems become less adaptable

• E.g., contractors vs consultants

• Strike the right balance between future and present

P R O B L E M C H I L D

L’ E N FA N T T E R R I B L E

• Competent, intelligent, knowledgable, talented

• Low empathy, remember hits/forgets misses

• Games the rules; does not take instruction well

• “Student syndrome”; negotiates conditions post-facto

• Has never really “failed” in own mind

H O W T O H A N D L E P R O B L E M C H I L D

• Works well in a team …but only when leading it!

• Independent work:thrives on responsibility

• Leadership role:sword that cuts two ways

• Fire/release/let go

U N S T R U C T U R E D M E R I T O C R A C Y

T H E T Y R A N N Y O F S T R U C T U R E L E S S N E S S

• (Jo Freeman, via Laura Thomson)

• No explicit formal hierarchy

• Earn position by merit

• No defined standard of merit

• Hierarchy is informal and implicit

• In-group, or out

D E A L I N G W I T H I N F O R M A L S T R U C T U R E

• Recognize that hierarchy exists (ALL members)

• Identify social hierarchy positions and holders

• Decide if you like you where you are

• Concentrate more on social strategies, less on technical ones

• Toby Young, “The Fall Of The Meritocracy”

T H E E V I L R U L E R : T I M E

– B R O O K S ’ L A W ( F R E D B R O O K S )

Adding manpowerto a late software project

makes it later.

– T I M O T H Y L I S T E R

People under time pressure don’t think faster.

– D O U G L A S H O F S TA D T E R

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

– D O U G L A S H A R T R E E

The time from “now”until “the completion of the project”

tends to become constant.

H A N D L I N G S C H E D U L E P R E S S U R E

• Extend deadline (“free”)

• Reduce scope (not free)

• Parallelize independent tasks (not free)

E V I L R U L E R ’ S E N F O R C E R ?

C U S T O M E R S , O W N E R , P R O J E C T M A N A G E R , T E A M L E A D

C O N C L U S I O N

• Patterns in movies: hero(ine)s, old mentor, gift of assistance, strong helper

• Patterns in teams: “academic/utilitarian”, problem child, meritocracy, time

• Recognize these patterns to deal with them effectively

T H A N K S !

• paul-m-jones.com

• @pmjones

• leanpub.com/mlaphp

• joind.in/event/madisonphp2015