Comments on: Building Skyscraper Websites http://www.carbonsilk.com/development/building-skyscraper-websites/ Developing Ideas by James Broad Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:56:48 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.2 By: Joy http://www.carbonsilk.com/development/building-skyscraper-websites/#comment-274 Joy Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:07:06 +0000 http://www.carbonsilk.com/?p=35#comment-274 Great article James ! I agree with you on your viewpoint. Great article James ! I agree with you on your viewpoint.

]]> By: James Broad http://www.carbonsilk.com/development/building-skyscraper-websites/#comment-213 James Broad Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:21:09 +0000 http://www.carbonsilk.com/?p=35#comment-213 @James thanks! I would say the ratio, which does scale, would be something like (x:y = member per x team members): <li><strong>Product Manager</strong> - 1:10</li> <li><strong>Program Manager</strong> - 1:20</li> <li><strong>Engineer</strong> - 2:10</li> <li><strong>Web Developer</strong>2:10</li> <li><strong>Architect</strong>1:20</li> <li><strong>Quality and Assurance</strong>1:10</li> @James thanks!

I would say the ratio, which does scale, would be something like (x:y = member per x team members):

  • Product Manager – 1:10
  • Program Manager – 1:20
  • Engineer – 2:10
  • Web Developer2:10
  • Architect1:20
  • Quality and Assurance1:10
    • ]]>         By: Marco http://www.carbonsilk.com/development/building-skyscraper-websites/#comment-212 Marco Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:48:39 +0000 http://www.carbonsilk.com/?p=35#comment-212 I think the biggest reason why things slow down when companies get large enough is the fact that people take all this for granted. It's almost like it's used as an excuse for slow execution. I believe that large companies can structure themselves to have units as small as possible with as little reporting lines as possible utilizing the talent of the people in the positions at it's fullest. A lot of people are multi-talented while they're usually only used to do one little specific thing. This is a waste of epic proportions in my opinion. A company that can make the above happen is a guaranteed winner I think. I think the biggest reason why things slow down when companies get large enough is the fact that people take all this for granted. It’s almost like it’s used as an excuse for slow execution.
    I believe that large companies can structure themselves to have units as small as possible with as little reporting lines as possible utilizing the talent of the people in the positions at it’s fullest. A lot of people are multi-talented while they’re usually only used to do one little specific thing. This is a waste of epic proportions in my opinion.
    A company that can make the above happen is a guaranteed winner I think.

    ]]>         By: James Broad http://www.carbonsilk.com/development/building-skyscraper-websites/#comment-211 James Broad Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:48:59 +0000 http://www.carbonsilk.com/?p=35#comment-211 @Marco, I would love to see skyscraper sites operating in an efficient lean and mean manner, however it seems when you reach large employee counts, message relay and direction tend to break down much like Chinese whispers. I think Facebook is a good example of a lean organisation; they have circa 700 employees, (from what I know) and they tend to update their site little and often (excluding their recent redesign). This works well, but their offerings differ from someone such as Yahoo! or Google in that they maintain a singular vertical product, something with constraints and clear development direction. In summary, I agree with your point wholeheartedly, but I think that young companies with large employee bases are the cause of not being lean. My ethos, if I had a high traffic empire would be to do less, well, taking Twitter or Flickr as prime examples. @Marco, I would love to see skyscraper sites operating in an efficient lean and mean manner, however it seems when you reach large employee counts, message relay and direction tend to break down much like Chinese whispers.

    I think Facebook is a good example of a lean organisation; they have circa 700 employees, (from what I know) and they tend to update their site little and often (excluding their recent redesign). This works well, but their offerings differ from someone such as Yahoo! or Google in that they maintain a singular vertical product, something with constraints and clear development direction.

    In summary, I agree with your point wholeheartedly, but I think that young companies with large employee bases are the cause of not being lean. My ethos, if I had a high traffic empire would be to do less, well, taking Twitter or Flickr as prime examples.

    ]]>         By: Marco http://www.carbonsilk.com/development/building-skyscraper-websites/#comment-209 Marco Sun, 26 Oct 2008 12:14:49 +0000 http://www.carbonsilk.com/?p=35#comment-209 Hmmm... while I agree with the fact that there's a lot more involved in getting a skyscraper website off the ground including many different roles people perform, I do think there's some horrible inefficiency going on in most companies that do these sites. All too easily the reasons you state in your article are being used as 'excuses' for why things have such long turnaround times. I strongly believe that even large corporations building websites with huge scale can 'shape up' and be way more efficient than they are now. This includes our mutual employer as far as I'm concerned. I believe even large corporations can become 'lean and mean' when it comes to their processes that lead to a new release, or at least a lot more than they are now. I also believe that achieving this is one of the most important keys to more success. Hmmm… while I agree with the fact that there’s a lot more involved in getting a skyscraper website off the ground including many different roles people perform, I do think there’s some horrible inefficiency going on in most companies that do these sites.

    All too easily the reasons you state in your article are being used as ‘excuses’ for why things have such long turnaround times. I strongly believe that even large corporations building websites with huge scale can ‘shape up’ and be way more efficient than they are now. This includes our mutual employer as far as I’m concerned.

    I believe even large corporations can become ‘lean and mean’ when it comes to their processes that lead to a new release, or at least a lot more than they are now. I also believe that achieving this is one of the most important keys to more success.

    ]]>         By: James http://www.carbonsilk.com/development/building-skyscraper-websites/#comment-202 James Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:27:28 +0000 http://www.carbonsilk.com/?p=35#comment-202 Hi James, great article... I'm interested to know what kind of ratios you find between the number of employees in the different roles within a skyscraper? Does that ratio change as a company grows? Cheers, J Hi James,

    great article… I’m interested to know what kind of ratios you find between the number of employees in the different roles within a skyscraper? Does that ratio change as a company grows?

    Cheers,

    J

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