Interesting Bits

XP Day and my first talk in French

I am back from XP Day France, and I must congratulate Laurent Bossavit and his supporting cast for putting on a good conference. It was 1-1/2 days of good content and a very good turnout.

I also gave my first ever talk in French, entitled "XP: My Greatest Misses, 2000-2006". I would like to thank the audience for listening, even though I'm sure it must have been painful at points. I am proud of myself, and also of Charlie Poole, for having the courage to do it in front of a paying crowd. Well done, Charlie.

An opinion of pair programming and Theory X

It's sad, but true, but opinions like this continue. It does not appear likely that they will change soon. I spotted this in a very good article on the topic of pair programming.

A classic (Theory X) manager observed a programming pair working on a design over a period of time. This manager suggested to their supervisor that one of the two programmers be laid off because only one was doing anything constructive. (The driver always gets the credit.) When the supervisor heard the suggestion, he replied that these programmers were the most productive people in the organization. The manager then asked that the programmers keep their office door closed so others would not get the same idea.

The author defines a Theory X manager, in part, as one who assumes that all workers do not enjoy their work and have no desire to learn or grow, so that provides a clue to this quote. How many Theory X managers have you worked for? Are you working for one now?