(^72) 97 Things Every Project Manager Should Know
Work in Cycles
Work in Cycles
Work in Cycles
James Leigh
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
oUR BoDIES ARE FUll oF nATURAl CyClES, and our productivity is no
different. The human brain cannot focus on any single issue for more than a
few hours at a time. Ideal workdays are designed to ensure that the body has
time to rest and refocus every 90 to 180 minutes. Productivity has been shown
to degrade after about 90–120 minutes of work, requiring the brain to change
focus before productivity can increase.
The most effective software projects are created in environments that ensure
that developers are mentally productive. However, many things that contrib-
ute to developers’ productivity are out of the control of their software project
manager. You can’t ensure that they eat appropriately, or sleep enough hours at
night. However, a project manager can help ensure that a developer’s produc-
tivity does not degrade during the day, by encouraging frequent breaks and
providing opportunity for nutrition. The old saying that developers are driven
by their stomachs is true.
Studies also show that projects are more successful when broken into itera-
tions. By creating weekly or monthly subprojects—complete with goals, pri-
orities, feedback, and releases—software bugs can be mitigated and developer
satisfaction can be increased. Breaking the work into smaller iterations pro-
vides opportunities to track progress and acknowledge good results. It also
gives everyone on the team the opportunity to reflect, give feedback to one
another, and improve communication.