Replies

So the lead supervisor for a team of coders doing hard-core coding may know absolutely nothing about coding himself? How can he tell if they are doing their jobs correctly as opposed to screwing up or just bullshitting their boss?

So he serves as the motivator and the general temperature-setter.<

I don't really know what that means. Who makes the actual decisions as to who will or will not be prosecuted, what they will be charged with, the scope of the investigations, who will get immunity, etc.?

So the lead supervisor for a team of coders doing hard-core coding may know absolutely nothing about coding himself?

Yes. Seen it in action.

How can he tell if they are doing their jobs correctly as opposed to screwing up or just bullshitting their boss?

Peer participation and review. Nobody can slack when everyone checks one another's work. Look into Agile practices. Heck, if you guys are having these sort of problems, you might want to start EMPLOYING Agile practices, adapting it to better fit the law.

In law, the only significant indications to someone without expertise of whether or not someone is doing their job correctly may not be evident for years. Some lawyers can bullshit pretty sophisticated clients for years, essentially misleading them regarding the posture of the case.... and.... I don't really know what that means. Who makes the actual decisions as to who will or will not be prosecuted, what they will be charged with, the scope of the investigations, who will get immunity, etc.?

If you guys aren't collaborating, and I mean DAILY, I think I see a hole in your profession's process.

We all have defined roles, in computer development. Business Partners. Product Owner. Project Manager. Scrum Master. Team Dev Lead. Developers. Testers.

This is what a functional Agile team looks like. We meet daily for morning 15 minute standups, but that is but one of the many Agile ceremonies intended to increase collaboration.

In my case, the Project Manager reports to an Associate Director, who has zero by way of coding experience.

Basically, in this tight team, we all keep one another honest. Agile also works in other industries. I bet it could work in yours.

Look into it. You may change the landscape of the legal profession.

A parting thought: We in computer development used to work in the manner you say, where you state:

In law, the only significant indications to someone without expertise of whether or not someone is doing their job correctly may not be evident for years.

Same thing in coding. Seen that too. We call that Waterfall Development, as opposed to the far more effective Agile Development.

I said it as a lark, but I seriously wonder, now, if your entire profession could benefit from what we have learned in the computer world.