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Catering to Coders

Joel Spolsky [How Hard Could It Be? November] has it both very right and very wrong about managing software development projects.

He's right in suggesting that you should limit software developers to a maximum of 40-hour workweeks. You can't burn out your developers and expect results. He's also right about the need to attract superstar developers. Imagine hearing, "We can get away with mediocre staff" in any other industry.

But Spolsky is wrong about requiring developers to estimate the deadline for every small detail of their projects. By the time you get the estimates done, the client may have shifted the goalposts. Clients often develop their own understanding of the capabilities of the software, or their business environment changes. Or, worse, their budget changes.

Anthony Stevens
CEO
Xidey
Seattle

Joel Spolsky correctly points out some of the management techniques that tend to fail on software projects. But there are other, more important points to be made. For one, sometimes it isn't much help to involve the end users in the development of a software project. They have their own jobs to do and can't spare the time to help. Also, software developers themselves often don't know if they're incompetent. I've taken over half-finished projects from other coders and found that diligent souls can produce an utter mess.

Fred Seltzer
Jerusalem

My take is that software developers are more like artists than scientists. Until this is really understood by managers, software development efforts will continue to fail. We need to shift toward the idea that software development is not something that can be controlled and managed precisely.

Brad Gregory
Perth, Australia

A Good Policy To Have

Your article on life insurance ["Passing It On," October] puts forth a common myth about the industry. It's not entirely accurate that permanent life insurance is expensive. Permanent insurance gets an internal rate of return. The return may be low, but the fact remains that you are guaranteed to get back more than you put in. You can't say that about most investments.

Robert Segall
Managing partner
Saint George Financial Partners
New York City

Entrepreneurs Can Be Taught

George Gendron's article [Guest Speaker, October] left me excited about the future of entrepreneurship programs in our country. As a small-business owner and someone who works with high school students to encourage them to explore entrepreneurship, I think this article explains what it is to be an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs have to creatively mold ideas into productive companies, often using limited resources. The current state of the venture capital world can be discouraging for business owners. It's extremely important for young people to know that it's passion coupled with business knowledge that will ultimately make you successful.

Monica Allen
Co-owner
Allen Professional Graphics Group
Atlanta

Correction

In our roundup of espresso machines [Craves, November], we listed an inaccurate price for the Rancilio Silvia. The manufacturer's suggested retail price is $595.

To submit a letter, write to Inc. Letters, 7 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007-2195. Letters may be edited for space and style. Submission constitutes permission to use.

Correction: In an earlier version of this section we misspelled the name of the company Xidey.

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