3 ms·

The best software developers I've worked with have been average "coders". Instead, they have an awareness of the broader context that allows them to deliver mor

The best software developers I've worked with have been average "coders". Instead, they have an awareness of the broader context that allows them to deliver more business value, even if their implementations may not be quite as good as their more "advanced" peers.

TallGuyShort 10y ago
The best "coder" I ever worked with was one of my least productive peers ever. We were once able to hand him a detailed specification for a complex interface. Several people (smart people, mind you) had tried implementing it already and the results were always flaky after a couple of weeks of development. In about 2 days he had a very elegant looking implementation that I don't think we ever had to edit or fix again. But if you asked him a question? He would literally stare at you and not answer. Couldn't get anything back from him in meetings. I believe he was hired from a very algorithms-focused interview. We had also hired a few folks who actually had MBAs with emphases on Information Systems. They were okay coders, but they communicated really well. They were by far the more productive team members the rest of the time.
- cr0sh 10y ago
  > We were once able to hand him a detailed specification for a complex interface. Several people (smart people, mind you) had tried implementing it already and the results were always flaky after a couple of weeks of development. In about 2 days he had a very elegant looking implementation that I don't think we ever had to edit or fix again. While he may not have been "productive" in the traditional sense, it is quite possible that he saved the business and development team countless hours of lost time down the line by implementing the documented process to spec in such a manner as to not require future downtime or maintenance...

3 ms·

The best software developers I've worked with have been average "coders". Instead, they have an awareness of the broader context that allows them to deliver mor

by organsnyder 10y ago

TallGuyShort 10y ago
The best "coder" I ever worked with was one of my least productive peers ever. We were once able to hand him a detailed specification for a complex interface. Several people (smart people, mind you) had tried implementing it already and the results were always flaky after a couple of weeks of development. In about 2 days he had a very elegant looking implementation that I don't think we ever had to edit or fix again. But if you asked him a question? He would literally stare at you and not answer. Couldn't get anything back from him in meetings. I believe he was hired from a very algorithms-focused interview. We had also hired a few folks who actually had MBAs with emphases on Information Systems. They were okay coders, but they communicated really well. They were by far the more productive team members the rest of the time.
- cr0sh 10y ago
  > We were once able to hand him a detailed specification for a complex interface. Several people (smart people, mind you) had tried implementing it already and the results were always flaky after a couple of weeks of development. In about 2 days he had a very elegant looking implementation that I don't think we ever had to edit or fix again. While he may not have been "productive" in the traditional sense, it is quite possible that he saved the business and development team countless hours of lost time down the line by implementing the documented process to spec in such a manner as to not require future downtime or maintenance...