Index

NUMBERS AND SYMBOLS A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T V W Z

NUMBERS AND SYMBOLS

37signals, use of Ruby on Rails for applications

A

Advice for Computer Science College Students, on joelonsoftware.com

Aeron chairs (Herman Miller)–2nd

AOL Time Warner, change of Winamp advertising by

Austin, Robert D., Measuring and Managing Performance in Organizations by

B

back of the envelope questions, using in interviews–2nd

Braithwaite, Reg, "My favourite interview question" by

Bionic Office

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, by Malcolm Gladwell

Brooks' Law, regarding adding programmers–2nd

Brooks, Frederick, The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering by

bugs

     fixing before writing new code–2nd

     keeping a bug database–2nd

C

candidates

chairs, buying best for programmer comfort–2nd

chief software engineer, criteria for hiring

Command and Control method

     based on military management–2nd

     drawbacks to in high-tech teams–2nd

     understanding military use of–2nd

consumer electronics–2nd

Cornell, Gary, a typical problem to simplify (personal interview)

Converting Capital Into Software The Works, on joelonsoftware.com

cover letters, 2nd–3rd, 4th

Crossgain, noncompete agreement problems at

"Crossgain vs. Microsoft," by Jay Greene

CVS source control software

D

daily builds, importance of to productivity–2nd

Dantzig, George B., interview of

DeMarco, Tom and Timothy Lister

     Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams, 2^nd Edition by, 2nd, 3rd

     Programmer Performance and the Effects on the Workplace by

Design for Community, by Derek Powazek

developers

     building the community for future hiring–2nd

     finding great ones–2nd

     finding on Joel on Software job board

     wooing after finding one you want–2nd

dysfunctional politics–2nd

E

Econ 101 management method

     effect of creating incentives in–2nd

     how it works–2nd

     local maxima effect–2nd

Eisenstat, Stanley, programming-intensive taught by at Yale

employee referrals, upsides and downsides of–2nd

English skills, scoring resumes by–2nd

extrinsic vs. intrinsic motivation–2nd

F

Fog Creek Software

     formula for starting

     original hiring rule–2nd

     rules for screening resumes–2nd

     start of with Michael Pryor

FogBugz 6.0, negotiating beta release of –2nd

Frederick the Great and the Art of War, by Frederick, King of Prussia

G

Gladwell, Malcolm, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

Google, 20% time concept at

Greene, Jay, "Crossgain vs. Microsoft: Mooning the Giant" by

H

hallway usability test

Heinemeier Hansson, David, Rails created by–2nd

Herman Miller chairs–2nd

Hire or No Hire decisions, guidelines for–2nd

hiring

     basic principles of

     closing the deal

     cost of making wrong decision

How Office Space Affects Programming Productivity, by Capers Jones

"How to Fire an Incompetent Teacher", by John Stossel

How Would You Move Mount Fuji, by William Poundstone

I

IBM's Santa Teresa Laboratory

Identity Management method–2nd

incentives. See also measurements and incentives

independence and autonomy, importance of to programmer success–2nd

InstallShield

interns

     techniques for finding the best–2nd

     upside and downside of hiring–2nd

internships

     final evaluation of interns–2nd

     final evaluations and job offers–2nd

     getting the great people before they enter job market–2nd

     paid in computer science and software development–2nd

interviewing

     asking to solve easy programming problem

     avoiding brain teaser questions in–2nd

     avoiding discriminatory questions in–2nd

     bad questions for–2nd

     candidates that show leadership ability

     detecting smart candidates in–2nd

     guerrilla guide to–2nd

     ideal final step in

     illegal questions during

     importance of having candidates write code, 2nd

     introduction phase

     looking for candidates that explain things well–2nd

     looking for passion in candidates–2nd

     making the final decision–2nd

     peer interviews of candidates–2nd

     techniques for preparing for–2nd

     types of people in

interviews, final in-person for interns–2nd

intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation

An Introduction to Mathematics (1911), quotation from by Alfred Whitehead

iPod–2nd

J

JavaSchools, perils of

Joel on Software (website)

     building a community for future hiring

     job board

     launch of

     published on website in 2000

     website address for

Joel on Software, book by Joel Spolsky

The Joel Test

     for development teams

     for rating the quality of your software team–2nd

     scoring of

Jones, Capers, How Office Space Affects Programming Productivity by

Juno Online Services–2nd

K

knowledge workers

     benefits of quiet working space for–2nd

     how metrics don't work with–2nd

L

Lang, Serge

Lister, Timothy and Tom DeMarco

     Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams, 2^nd Edition by, 2nd

     Programmer Performance and the Effects on the Workplace by

Luvaas, Jay, Frederick the Great and the Art of War edited and translated by

M

Mac developers, finding at tech conferences

management methods

     getting everyone moving in the same direction–2nd

     three common approaches to–2nd

McCue, Gerald M., IBM's Santa Teresa Laboratory

measurements and incentives, downside of using to motivate teams–2nd

Measuring and Managing Performance in Organizations, by Robert D. Austin

metrics–2nd

micromanagement, downfalls of–2nd

Microsoft Word for Windows–2nd

Monopoly interview question

motivation, intrinsic vs. extrinsic

"My favourite interview question", by Reg Braithwaite

The Mythical Man-Month, by Frederick Brooks

N

The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't, by Robert I. Sutton

noncompete agreements–2nd

Nullsoft–2nd

O

office chairs, buying best for programmer comfort–2nd

open-ended questions–2nd

open-source programmers, finding at open-source conferences

Oracle Corporation, MAP (Multiple Alternatives Program) at

Overjustification Effect, of Econ 101 management method–2nd

P

Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams, 2^nd Edition, by DeMarco and Lister, 2nd, 3rd

performance, improving programmers', 131–2nd

The Perils of JavaSchools, on joelonsoftware.com

phone interviews

     candidate interview of interviewer as part of–2nd

     technical problems as part of–2nd

     technology and politics as part of–2nd

physical workspace, effect of on recruiting programmers–2nd

pointers, aptitude for understanding in C–2nd

politics, effect of dysfunctional in the workplace–2nd

Poundstone, William, How Would You Move Mount Fuji: Microsoft's Cult of the Puzzle by

Powazek, Derek, Design for Community by

private offices, effect of on recruiting–2nd

problem solving, after the offer–2nd

productivity, gauging to avoid gaming–2nd

Programmer Performance and the Effects on the Workplace, by Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister

programmers. See also developers; Mac developers; open-source programmers; Windows programmers

     attitude of people they meet at interview–2nd

     avoiding preconceived notions about–2nd

     benefits of quiet working space for–2nd

     bottom line in hiring

     different types of contributors–2nd

     effect of firing underperformers on morale–2nd

     handling underperformers–2nd

     hiring cheap vs. quality–2nd

     hiring right ones for the job–2nd

     importance of identifying with company to–2nd

     interviewing about recent project–2nd

     measuring productivity of–2nd

     more are not always better

     motivating to identify with company goals–2nd

     putting yourself into the candidate's head–2nd

     questioning a candidate on code writing–2nd

     screening for diversity in thinking about projects–2nd

     screening for experience in difficult technologies–2nd

     some don't pull their weight–2nd

     things they don't care about–2nd

     toys as great recruiting tools for

     treating them like Samurai–2nd

     treatment of inside the organization–2nd

     typical plan for interviewing–2nd

     understanding of basic programming concepts–2nd

     using cool new technologies unnecessarily–2nd

programming-intensive course (CS323), taught at Yale

projects, letting top recruits pick their own–2nd

Q

Quiz Show Interviewer

R

recruiting

     identifying idealistic aspects of company for–2nd

     importance of interesting projects to–2nd

     importance of people applicants meet at interview–2nd

recursion

     and pointers, programmers understanding of–2nd

     importance of understanding, see recursion

Reid, Constance and Donald J. Albers, An Interview of George B. Dantzig: The Father of Linear Programming by

resumes

     additional screening for–2nd

     criteria for sorting–2nd

     evaluating for technology experience–2nd

     extracurricular activities as clue to intelligence–2nd

     Fog Creek rules for screening–2nd

     importance of custom cover letters to–2nd

     passion as important criteria for programmers–2nd

     scoring by English skills–2nd

     selectivity as criteria for programmers

Reselman, Bob, blog post about Microsoft interview

rubber rooms, use of to neutralize bad employees–2nd

Ruby on Rails, use of by 37 signals for applications

S

Santa Teresa Laboratory (IBM)

schedules, importance of having up-to-date–2nd

selectivity, as part of criteria for programmers

Seven Samurai, Akira Kurosawa movie

shipping build–2nd

software companies, bible on how to run

software company, creation of Fog Creek Software

software developers

     importance of interesting projects to–2nd

     social life of–2nd

software developers. See developers source control–2nd

specifications–2nd

Stossel, John, "How to Fire an Incompetent Teacher" by

Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, by H. Abelson and G. J. Sussman

Subversion source control software

Sutton, Robert I., The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't by

T

teachers, firing incompetent–2nd

teams

     different types of contributors–2nd

     the wrong way to motivate–2nd

tech conferences, finding good developers at–2nd

tech recruiters, fascination with acronyms–2nd

technologies, looking for experience in difficult–2nd

test results

     from first calculations–2nd

     from top quartile of students–2nd

testers, importance of having dedicated

tools, buying the best available for productivity–2nd

toys, as great recruiting tools for programmers

V

VCs–2nd

W

Waterloo Fortran IV compiler–2nd

website address

     for Joel on Software, joelonsoftware.com

     for Joel on Software job board, jobs.joelonsoftware.com

Whitehead, Alfred, quotation from An Introduction to Mathematics

Winamp–2nd

Windows programmers, finding at Microsoft's PDC

WISE

Word for Windows, Microsoft–2nd

workspace, effect of on recruiting programmers–2nd

Z

zero defects methodology–2nd