Gerald M. Weinberg (1933–2018)

Weinberg is a master of extracting the human personality required to run modern business. He describes one of his art-forms in this introduction to consulting practice. This book does not focus merely on short heuristics on how to consult. It instead goes in-depth into the psyche required to succeed as a consultant.

He defines consulting as the art of influencing people at their request. He then describes a rational framework for this practice and how communication can succeed through show more humility and the proper management of change. This latter topic (the management of change) is where Weinberg is at his best. He distills his advice in rules or laws that govern the enterprise. Often these laws seem paradoxical or unusual at first. Then he supports these laws with interesting anecdotes that bring the truth to the fore. As such, he prepares the landscape of consulting for those new to the practice. Landmines are able to be anticipated and avoided instead of exploded with pain.

At the very least, Weinberg's voice needs to be heard because of his incredible self-awareness. Instead of approaching the matter as mere science and facts, Weinberg artfully describes the human component in consulting - since it is the art of influencing people, at their request. Anyone who wants to get better at navigating the thorny roads of human feelings and human nature would benefit from reading Weinberg's take. show less

This book is misnamed, as the author admits. It should be named "The Anthropology of Computer Programming." It studies the culture of computer programming rather than the psychology of the practice. Fortunately, despite being written over forty years ago, it succeeds at its task for the reader today as well as for the original reader.

If you can move past the references to dated languages and programming practices, this book elucidates many observations about how programmers work. It's like show more reading an anthropology of a long-hidden culture from decades ago. From one who works in computer programming, the cultural fruit of these observations can be seen in labs today.

To be frank, I've never felt that I've truly understood my peers in the lab. I've done well with the computer - with expressing myself through programs. So many of my peers are socially passive in their demeanor. I'm outgoing, even energetic. The cultural analysis in this book, though dated, helps me see this culture more clearly. It helps me feel more at home in my own environment - and perhaps also, in my own skin. As such, this book achieved its goal in my life, and for that, I am sincerely grateful. show less

It's a rare technical book that is worth a damn after five years, let alone more than 50. While technology has changed immensely, the basics of computer programming remain the same. Weinberg offers a social study of programming, followed by questions for programmers and programming managers.

4 of 5 developers enjoy code review

These questions are the best part of the book. "When was the last time you read a program written by someone else? When was the last time someone read one of your show more programs? Was it your manager?" Like, what did I do to get called out like this?. There are good sections on motivation, and how money is rarely enough for good programmers, which is true (though looking at levels.fyi I could use a raise, and software is the only career in this capitalist hellscape that is actually well compensated), and how egoless programming helps build robust software. Simply posing these questions to your software engineering team could reveal some very interesting truths and issues.

There's also a lot of thoroughly deprecated engineering culture here. The example language is PL/I, the example machine an IBM 360 series mainframe. While we no longer line up to submit our batches of punchcards to the almighty computer, we still have organizational barriers between developers and infrastructure. While process protects us from technical debt, security holes, and general anarchy, process is a greater barrier to getting things done at my job than any technical issue.

The reason why I've docked this review a star is that while I think Weinberg is right, he's right in theory and often lacks the evidence to support his claims, evidence which according to Valia's review of this book is now available. The one experiment, which is fascinating, compares groups of programmers on the same task. One group was told to write an efficient program, the other group to just get it done. The efficient group took 5x the time, but their programs used 10% of the computing resources on average.

The Psychology of Computer Programming has many fascinating and provocative questions, but gets lost in a tangle of arguments without evidence. And there's also a faith that despite 50 years of exponential change in processor speed, memory, and quality of tooling, the fundamentals of programming are the same. show less

Gerry Weinberg has a PhD in communications and has written around 60 books on various topics, mostly having to do with computer programming. As a glorified computer programmer and an aspiring writer, this Weinberg book on his methodology for writing seems appealing.

His basic take runs through writing from the heart. He uses the analogy for nineteen of twenty chapters in this book of craftsperson building a wall with "fieldstones" and mortar.

For example, the act of sorting stones into piles show more is compared with sorting one's ideas into working projects. Many ideas, like many stones, are to be thrown away. Some are meant for placement in one section; some are meant for placement in others. All require careful arrangement.

I like how Weinberg's process is highly non-linear, much like the way I think. I tend to accomplish more through the use of non-linear thinking. (Aren't all good minds essentially non-linear?) I also appreciate the spatial metaphors he uses as I find the linear way I was taught to write in high school to be very confusing.

I write words like I write code - in a blow-off-the-doors, mad rush to dump out my thoughts onto a keyboard. Fitting in a linear process does not really work well for me, whether that be in a manager's linear model (waterfall methodology anyone?) or in an English teacher's ploy for high test grades. I do best when I just make a quick dump and organize as I go. This seems to be how Weinberg teaches us how to communicate as well. That confidence in a method that fits me enables me to write more recklessly and with more moxie than I would otherwise. For that, I am grateful to have read this book. show less