producing programmers and programmer teams

1. Producing Programmersand Programmer Teams Steve Taylor Wahoo Studios

3. Introduction Goals of this presentation Productivity and Efficiency Happiness and Joy

4. Overview Specialization and Improvement Production Finishing Games

5. Specialization/Improvement Types of Programmers and Technical Leaders Programmer Growth and Career Paths

6. Types of Programmers Coder Lead Programmer Key Programmer Junior Programmer Programmer Management

7. Coder Typical programmer who loves writing code Any large team should consist primarily of coders

8. Lead Programmer Experienced programmer Takes on responsibility for quality and schedule More Later�

9. Key Programmer Experienced programmer Key for specific technologies, performance, and risk areas Can�t spend valuable time managing

10. Junior Programmer Relatively new programmer Has enthusiasm and new ideas But requires hand-holding Keep number small

11. Company Management Technical Director Technical Officers

12. Focus on Lead Programmers Technical Directors

13. Lead Programmers Strong communicators, good managers More critical for larger projects Technical enough to direct architecture, but not necessarily best coder on team Must be willing to spend significant amounts of time managing

14. Lead Prog. Responsibilities Designing and directing architecture Assigning programmer tasks Designing data path for content Writing technical documents Contributing to a test plan Acquiring resources for team Working with other leads on technical direction and quality of the game

15. Lead Responsibilities (cont.) Reviewing work done and helping solve problems Getting the game approved (by publisher / hardware manufacturer) Writing Code

16. Lead Programmers Summary Can�t be afraid to manage while others code My Horror Story

17. Technical Directors Critical for larger multi-project companies Support programming staff of entire company or large subgroup

18. T.D. Responsibilities Hiring and firing programmers Researching and evaluating new technology (e.g. middleware), and solutions to big problems Evaluating code and programmer performance Helping to allocate programmers between various company teams and projects

19. T.D. Responsibilities (cont.) Arranging Training Facilitating the exchange of technology and ideas between teams Acquiring programmer resources Equipment Tools Books, magazines, other reference Otherwise assisting all types of programmers to grow and perform

20. Technical Director Summary A resource for programmers Success Story

21. Growth and Career Paths Why do we care? New Programmers Passion Code generation Older Programmers Some stay technical and look for key or senior technical role Some look for management role Pete Story

22. Production Tracking Programmers Directing and Communicating Helping Leads Helping Coders Data Paths Organizing Large Teams

23. Tracking Programmers Evaluation is essential for growth and team effectiveness Lead programmers and technical directors should regularly evaluate Code reviews can be touchy Matt Story Annual Reviews Ask for programmer�s goals Overall feedback and evaluation Post-mortem of game and milestone

24. Directing and Communicating Leads should give tasks that are Meaningful Clear Well-documented Evaluated later Some programmers are self-motivated Some need checking up It is the lead�s job to learn which

25. Directing and Communicating Consider these options Mailing lists Internal newsgroups Internal web pages

26. Meetings Programming teams should meet regularly Review progress Keep in mind goals, long-term vision More important toward end of project Exactly when programmers complain They want to duck heads and code Keep meetings as short as possible (e.g. every day for 5 minutes) Story of Grumpy N64 Meetings

27. Helping Leads How can managers support lead programmers? Help them focus on leading Watch for signs that lead isn�t paying attention to lead duties Review schedules Review risks Lend a hand with planning, documentation, scheduling Help with the technical review stage

28. Helping Programmers How can managers support programmers? Provide research, reference materials, training, and equipment Recognize their achievements Help find solutions to technical problems, complaints, work environment, etc. Help them see long-term goals and future at company

29. Data Paths Integrating any non-code assets Art Audio Design Levels Custom solution, 3rd party, or mixed

30. Data Paths (cont.) Establishing and maintaining data path is responsibility of lead programmer Also involved Tech director Programmers Tools programmers Non-technical leads Critical responsibility of technical team

31. Data Paths (cont.) In modern projects, must be planned for in advance Decisions here affect character of entire company Personal experiences

32. Organizing Large Teams Large teams are more common today Multi-sku projects Shared technology/engines Tools teams and game teams Things to remember: Install capable lead over each sub-team Establish clear final authority for decisions Encourage communication between groups Schedule time in advance for testing / integration and for overall management of more people

33. Finishing Games Meeting Milestones Surviving Crunch Modes Passing Final Approval

34. Meeting Milestones Make sure dates and requirements are clearly posted and understood Review requirements before upcoming milestones Plan for major risks in advance Resolve dependencies in advance Arrange for QA to evaluate project Make sure programming team has QA feedback Document status for publisher Personal experience: Smoothest submissions were internally tested

35. Surviving Crunch Mode Management needs to show up Support the team with meals, breaks, etc. Fight entering crunch mode too early Crunch mode will almost always happen But it doesn�t have to be at the first sign of delay � it will come soon enough

36. Passing Final Approval Emotional support and encouragement Help maintain the long-term vision Help track down solutions Praise successes Give them a rest when they�re done

37. Passing Final Approval (cont.) There is always documentation Find it Review it Make sure they understand it and have copies Check for regular updates from web site, developer relations manager, etc. Consider assigning someone to master this data Pre-Submit!

38. Summary Letting Leads Lead, Coders Code Resources GDC Books & Articles On management in general On effective meetings On effective software production Online Resources

39. Q&A Producing Programmers and Programmer Teams Steve Taylor Wahoo Studios stay@wahoo.com