As a developer, what happens when you are running late on a deadline? Do you work late for more pay? Do you get chewed out? What happens if a feature fails to deliver the business value that was expected? Is it your responsibility?
Too often in the software development industry this is the case. Developers are not given the respect afforded other professionals. Instead, there is a perception that they are underperforming, lacking skills, or irresponsible. There is no concept of total team effort.
What is total team effort?
What if, instead of blaming the developers, missed deadlines are the result of a failure in planning, or a lack of resources? The failure needs to be identified, and corrected in a respectful manner. Only then can you take corrective measures to insure it doesn’t happen again. Does your company have a process for regularly analyzing workflow?
I recently had a job interview with a company where the representative practically bragged about making their developers work long hours under duress. This is not an environment I care to subject myself to. Nor would any other talented developers that I know. Who suffers? The business suffers. Product development suffers. When we fail to deliver value to the business on a regular basis, they start to question our worth. It’s a cyclical, self-feeding trend. One that I don’t want to be a part of, and you shouldn’t either.
#1 by Eric Wendelin at July 14th, 2010
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Amen!
Is there any way software engineers could be considered as professionals? Perhaps the equivalent of a BAR or CPA exam? I’m not sure.
#2 by kerry at July 14th, 2010
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Seems like the only thing we have are certifications. However, these are vendor driven and don’t seem to carry a whole lot of weight.
#3 by Tom purl at August 10th, 2010
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Fantastic article! I couldn’t have said it better or more succinctly.