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Even if a "Product Owner" brings a lot of customer information, it is still damn important for those developers who are genuinely willing (and able), to interac
by kashyapc 8y ago
Even if a "Product Owner" brings a lot of customer information, it is still damn important for those developers who are genuinely willing (and able), to interact with customers—even if it is only via medium-bandwidth tools like video calls. Developers should not worry about spending some time talking to users.
- clairity 8y agowe are not "disagreeing" that develoeprs have freedom to talk to customers. but if a developer spends most of their time doing something other than development, there are other inefficiencies going on.
- wbl 8y agoUnderstanding the problem is development.
- kashyapc 8y agoI know we agree on some level. Still, I can't help but feel like you have a somewhat narrow definition of "developer". A thoughtful senior developer who is in it for the long-run (read 15–30 years), and thinks in terms of "building a craft" will (and must) aim for a more well-rounded set of skills (that does not involve "development" in the narrow sense of hurling code)—e.g. giving high-quality technical talks that provide durable value, high-bandwidth interactions with customers and users, writing specifications, bringing multiple technical teams together to architect features and solutions (which requires careful and effective communication), and so forth. Related: You might've already come across it, if not, I suggest reading this paper (it's not about any specific technical topic, but more about the thought processes) from Peter Naur, titled: Programming as Theory Building. [1] http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~remzi/Naur.pdf http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~remzi/Naur.pdf