@Mike, Sean, and Fox

I agree with Mike that engineers (hardware or software) are not head in the cloud idealists. Developers and engineers are almost always interested in solving the problems at hand. Issues do occur when priorities are not *communicated* properly. Making that (patronizingly named) "Larry Test" didn't necessarily pull Larry's head out of the clouds, but it sure clarified things for him. Perhaps that sort of clarification should have been pursued more diligently throughout the project?

I don't agree with the rest of Mike's general characterization of management. That's just more ill will that doesn't help anything. Of course, I realize Mike was responding to the apparent insult to engineers.

As far as what Mike and Sean said, the only "direction" that I and almost every engineer I've ever worked with need are a clear indication of what problems and projects are the priority. This means making sure the engineers and developers are kept well informed about company and project priorities. This also means including the developers and engineers in this process to get appropriate feedback. Not all decisions should be unilateral decisions from management to engineering. Management may have more information about company and project direction, but they often have much less information about development issues or limitations, and I've never known an engineer who isn't constantly considering cost issues. I have no idea what sort of "engineers" you must work with, Fox, but I hope I never run into them.

I assure you that when appropriate communication is maintained your engineers and developers will get their jobs done without any hand holding or baby sitting. If you find yourself baby sitting, then you should consider the possibility that you've hired the wrong people or that you've created an ineffective work environment.