Chris's Wiki :: blog/links/OnCrunchMode Commentshttps://utcc.utoronto.ca/~cks/space/blog/links/OnCrunchMode?atomcommentsDWiki2021-12-08T21:00:18ZRecent comments in Chris's Wiki :: blog/links/OnCrunchMode.From 188.99.166.193 on /blog/links/OnCrunchModetag:CSpace:blog/links/OnCrunchMode:1caa1f97b98c88eb41b0fe35a9574dfef850f63eFrom 188.99.166.193<div class="wikitext"><p>the original article was moved to <a href="https://igda.org/resources-archive/why-crunch-mode-doesnt-work-six-lessons-2005/">https://igda.org/resources-archive/why-crunch-mode-doesnt-work-six-lessons-2005/</a></p>
</div>2021-12-08T21:00:18ZBy Chris Siebenmann on /blog/links/OnCrunchModetag:CSpace:blog/links/OnCrunchMode:9754ca6913c7e8187fb3fb20e4d15434164aef5bChris Siebenmann<div class="wikitext"><p>The IGDA paper seems definitely written from one particular position in
the debate. At the same time I think it has good points about the overall
effects of overwork, and that bit I find really interesting is about the
history of the 40-hour work week. (I failed to make that clear enough in
the entry.)</p>
<p>Before I read things like this I had the vague impression that the 40 hour
week was more or less arbitrary and created by union pressure (thank god
for the unions, honestly). I didn't know that there seems to be good
efficiency arguments for something like it and that wise employers
were going that way anyways, without outside pressure.</p>
</div>2006-05-23T16:01:37ZFrom 71.141.254.44 on /blog/links/OnCrunchModetag:CSpace:blog/links/OnCrunchMode:f13244d502fd4d9355ed825c50bdd36668743e72From 71.141.254.44<div class="wikitext"><p>Of course, the argument, in blindly presenting only one side of the situation, discusses only why it might be worse but fails to mention why employers of programmers might use crunch anyway.</p>
<p>Which is simple: because of Brooks' Law.</p>
<p>If you have a target date, and you don't think your current staff levels and current work per staff member per unit wall-clock time is going to get things done by that date, there are two variables you can manipulate. Assuming Brooks' Law is true to a first approximation, increasing staff levels isn't going to improve the situation; you'll get more man hours in before the date, but the communication overheads and etc. won't result in more work getting done before the date. However, increasing the number of hours each staff member works per week does not increase communication overhead, and so if there is <em>any</em> extra work getting done by increasing those hours</p>
<p>And that's my response to <em>Lesson Three is this: five-day weeks of eight-hour days maximize long-term output in every industry that has been studied over the past century. What makes us think that our industry is somehow exempt from this rule?</em> Because in programming, you can't trade men for months like you can for factory workers (which make up <em>all three</em> of the examples from that section).</p>
<p>I don't know how these two competing issues balance out, but the fact that it's not even mentioned or acknowledged in that "whitepaper" is a good example of why I'm not a member of the IGDA.</p>
<p>-- nothings</p>
</div>2006-05-23T09:29:51Z