Friday, February 28, 2014

What software developers do...

Professional software developers don't just "make things work."  Professional software developers try to make sure things don't fail.

I think this causes a lot of misunderstandings between non-technical people (or worse, people who think they're very technical), and the software developers they work with.

Here's a dead giveaway, "Well, can't you just..."  Yes.  I could just do that.  And it would work 95% of the time or more.  But the 20th time you try it, and it blows up in your face, you're going to come complaining to me.  And say, "Well, can't you just..." all over again.

Yeah, we understand what a demo is.  We understand what a proof-of-concept is.  We understand "good enough for now."  But when you want a production system with customer data on it, the bar should be set higher.

Maybe this is just a rant that other developers will see, and nod to themselves...  But maybe, just maybe, some marketing guy or manager with an MBA might see this, and think, "Oh, yeah, that makes sense."  But they're probably too busy synergizing, or something.