This article is very timely. I will probably re read it every day for the next month. My favorite quote:
5% of the programmers are 20 times more productive than the other 95% ... snip ... the majority (probably that other 95%) of programmers don't read books on programming
This really fits in with my whole "corporate programmers" thought process. It is a sad reality that we have to live with. Most programmers are not geeks. Most programmers don't live and breath computers. Humorously this idea was introduced to me 3 years ago when I met my friend Megan. She wasn't a brilliant programmer, but she got the job done. She stepped up and really made a difference when no one else could. But that code was not pretty. However, she really didn't have much to work with, or time to fix all of the problems. We ended up rewriting the whole thing because it was such a mess. But she got it working.
So, even though the code may not be pretty, it still gets the job done. Even though the programmers don't know everything there is to know about OOP or UML or whatever the latest craze is, they probably know enough to make a working application.
There was a link to a real gem about interviewing in the article as well. It was as informative if not better than the original interviewing masterpeice.
I want to write some more, particularly about Project Greenlight on HBO. During the Monday Morning Meeting today I wrote down a little lesson that I learned from Greenlight last night. Even the smallest change in plans can make a huge impact on the schedule. Now if we only had a real plan. :)
Posted by carl at July 22, 2003 12:54 AM
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