Programmers - We Are the Misunderstood

Programmers are a misunderstood lot.  In a non-tech company, a few folks in Information Technology who are the “programmers” or “developers” usually are at their desks looking at screens with ear buds in and generally are looking not very productive.  Who are these folks and what do they do?    

We are the misunderstood.  Most of the time we can really make a difference if others not perceive our profession and skill in certain ways.  I write this blog for many reasons but mostly so that we can, all do a bit better in home, work, and life.  We need to get more quality work done and at the same time point less fingers in general.  

Here are a couple of thoughts from a person who has put his ten thousand hours in at least over in software development and systems design. 

·         Excellent software is excellent to the core, data, and code.  It takes exponentially more time to write excellent software. It is also exponentially more difficult to develop excellent software. If you want excellence, expect it to take time.  And usually more time than is ever allowed.

·         A top-notch senior level programmer will have a higher bar for quality and excellence most every other person in the company, and that especially includes their managers most of the time.

·         If you badger programmers for status updates and bother them because you want something, you can expect less than excellent back from the programmer. You are killing their ability for excellence.

·         The majority of business requirements for software is good.  The majority of programming specifications by non-programmers (technical does not count as programmer) are rubbish.  I have never received a single programming spec that worked from inception to development to implementation except for one.  That was last week.  I might frame it and put it next to my diploma.  It is rarer than Bigfoot swimming in Loch Ness.  

We the programmers are miss understood. We want to deliver excellence and the best software possible.  However, this is a team world we live in.  It is also a competitive world that is starving for excellence.  Be on team excellence.

-          Mike