Programmer Musings

Review of Managing Humans

Managing Humans
Michael Lopp
Apress, 2007

Michael Lopp (also known as Rands) describes his take on managing software people. This book is very different from the few other management books I've read. Part of the difference is that Lopp writes all of his examples as fiction. He admits this at the beginning. Rather than tell embarrassing tales about people he has managed, he creates some fictional employees based on his experiences and uses them in equally fictional examples.

This could come across as unrealistic or cartoonish, but Lopp manages to pull it off. Like some of the best Dilbert strips, you have to admit that if these stories aren't true, they should be. If you've worked in this industry for any length of time, you've probably met (or been) several of these characters.

Another odd point for me is that Lopp seems to truly like what he does. This book is not about helping a non-manager survive in a management role. This book is not about a necessary stop at first-line manager while climbing the corporate ladder. This book is not even about keeping those workers in line, so you can get the big bonuses. This book is written by someone who really seems to enjoy the challenges of working as a software engineering manager and who wants to explain how you could like it too.

In the first section, Lopp does a pretty good job of explaining what you need to know about your manager and what he needs to know about you. He explains that most managers aren't actually evil. He also spends a bit of time explaining managementese.

Lopp also explains how managers lose it, the importance of saying no, and the real importance of information flow. He talks about pride and panic, resigning, layoffs, and hiring. He also identifies several special kinds of personalities that you will encounter at work and how to learn to listen and talk with these personalities without going mad.

Overall, I think this book is the best document I have read on managing in the software industry. Granted, I haven't read a large number of these, but it seems to make sense even to someone with little interest in a management position. More importantly, I think it make make me a better employee, by making it easier to understand my managers.

If you are a new software manager or you are looking to make the move into management, this book is a definite must-read. If you would honestly like to know what in the world your manager does even if you are not interested in doing it yourself, I would also recommend reading the book.