Iowa doesn't smell right

[fescuerescue]

68. Not just games but games are a very visibile example

Ultimately it just bad management.

There is always a countdown clock. That clock is powered by money. More money = more time on the clock.

No matter how much money the product is expected to generate, it generates NOTHING until customers pay for it. This means that some products have zero revenue for years, while the company pays all the people who put it together.

There isn't much that can be done about that money/clock. But what happens is that usually WAY to much of the clock is wasted on pointless meetings and discussions and the hardpart (development) is squeezed into a smaller and smaller allotment of time.

While management can have another month of meetings, that month of meetings only reduces development time and that drop dead date never moves.

Sometimes management gets the idea that they can extend the clock by hiring junior engineers. Cheaper so they can pay them longer. Rarely pays off though.

And the estimates on release dates? Lol. Those don't come from developers. Those are GIVEN to developers as deadlines. Deadlines are almost NEVER based on work estimates. They are based on budgets and market windows.