Why We Need Management

The role of management in software development

If everyone was perfect, we would need no management, no processes, no guidelines.

People would self-develop, focus, coordinate, hold each other accountable, be self-organized, talk about everything that needs to be talked about, align themselves and push forward. You would need less people to achieve something and those people would be happier.

If the individuals in your company are that good, you don’t need management. Or OKRs. Or processes. Or tickets. Or backlogs. Or any documents. The only thing you need is a strong vision.

For every difference from that state, you need management, processes, tickets, backlogs, and OKRs. The further away you are from that state, the more you need management, processes, tickets, backlogs, and OKRs.

The goal for every great company should be to move closer to a state without management or processes.

FAQ

Q: Are you saying we should eliminate all managers?

A: No, I’m saying that in an ideal world with perfect people, management wouldn’t be necessary. In reality, management serves important functions like coordination, accountability, and decision-making. The goal is to reduce management and process overhead by improving team capabilities.

Q: How can a company move toward less management?

A: Focus on hiring self-motivated people, pay 2x the market rate, establish a strong vision, and gradually give teams more autonomy as they prove they can handle it.

Q: What about complex organizations with thousands of employees?

A: Large organizations will always need some management structure for coordination - at the very least to deal with the outside world. The principle still applies - reduce management layers where possible and empower teams to be more self-sufficient within their domains.

Q: Isn’t this just describing self-organizing teams?

A: Yes, but it goes beyond just team structure. It’s about creating an environment where individuals naturally do the right things without processes or oversight, which requires both the right people and the right culture.

Q: How do you maintain quality without processes?

A: Quality comes from skilled people who care about their work. The goal is to have people who naturally maintain high standards rather than relying on processes to enforce quality.