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Expert beginners are cost-effective. That’s an interesting premise, but how do we know? What if expert beginners aren’t cost-effective but the true cost of rel
by Chris_Newton 8y ago
Expert beginners are cost-effective.
That’s an interesting premise, but how do we know? What if expert beginners aren’t cost-effective but the true cost of relying on them is hidden because there isn’t enough evidence available about the success of alternatives built by developers who have reached higher levels of skill and experience?
By the time someone reaches the expert level, the technology in which they are an expert is obsolete.
I respectfully disagree. Focussing on specific tools seems to be exactly the kind of danger we’re talking about with the expert beginner syndrome. Someone who sees the bigger picture will understand common principles and techniques that are applicable with many tools, allowing them to reach proficiency with new but similar tools very quickly. This leaves them free to focus on any genuine differences and, more importantly, on the problem to be solved rather than the tools used to solve it.
- TomMarius 8y agoThis effect is seen only with scale. If you have thousands of developers like my former employer, IMHO it's best to develop a tool that will help these "expert beginners" to not make mistakes, e.g. make them form designers, rule engine and composable rule blocks etc.
- Chris_Newton 8y agoIf you have thousands of “expert beginner” level developers, perhaps a training programme would be a better option? At that scale, you would surely have the resources to systematically increase the skill level of your whole staff instead of merely trying to compensate for their current limitations indefinitely.
- TomMarius 8y agoThat is a good point but that requires either having training in place or having time to do that. The workplace I worked at had a pretty high turnout of developers and short term projects using various languages and technologies (our "expert beginner tools" largely abstracted that as well, thankfully), training them was not really an option (and we lacked the required infrastructure). It was an outsourcing/staffing firm btw, not a product company.
- sirmarksalot 8y agoThe problem with the expert beginner is that they refuse to learn the new tool, because in their mind the old way worked perfectly fine. The developer who recognizes the value of these systems and takes the time to learn their intricacies is the least likely to fall into the trap. Though even with those systems, there's the danger of people becoming experts of those specific systems, and resisting any push for an upgrade, no matter how important.