[danabrams]

> these companies rely heavily on masses of junior/inexperienced developers. So they figure a strong management layer is necessary to properly direct the project's goals.

Development isn’t an assembly line process—and cannot possibly be. It’s about theory building and mental models. It requires experience.

It’s fine to have juniors, but they need to lean heavily on experienced colleagues. No amount of management and no management process can change that. A team where the juniors outnumber the seniors 3-to-1 is going to cost more money in the long run.

What you’re describing is exactly what I’m talking about when I say companies are unable to achieve this. Hire 3 senior people instead of 12 junior. You’ll get more done. Reduce your collaboration costs. But, as a manager, you get paid more if you manage more people, or if the people below you manage more people, so there’s a perverse incentive to build as much bureaucracy as possible and staff the lowest layers with the cheapest possible hires.