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Move up the value chain. If you can turn a design into code, learn to turn a spec into a design. If you can turn a spec into a design, learn how to understand
by jbert 13y ago
Move up the value chain.
If you can turn a design into code, learn to turn a spec into a design.
If you can turn a spec into a design, learn how to understand a problem and produce a spec to solve it.
If you can understand a problem, learn to talk to people and discover the problems they have so you can solve them for them.
If you can do that, learn a million other things and run your own business.
[You can also skip any of these steps if you're happy managing people to fill in the downstream aspects rather than doing it yourself.]
- psteinweber 13y agoThis. Very well said!
- dashster18 13y agoThis seems quite similar to the responsibilities of a good PM.
- fit2rule 13y agoYes but all the while, beware the Peter Principle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Principle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Principle
- norswap 13y agoMaybe that's good career advice, but it feels wrong somehow. My own experience is that while design is hard, it's always simpler than dealing with the nitty gritty. The hallmark of good design is that it leads to simplicity in the lower layer (implementation, etc).
- jbert 13y agoDesign is different to the nitty gritty but I'd say not necessarily easier or harder. Just as no battle plan survives engagement, no design survives the realities of implementation. This is what makes waterfall hard and agile.attractive. it is also what makes someone who can shift mental focus from one to the other more useful. Personally I think of it in terms of field of view. Zooming out to bigger and bigger picture or down to finer and finer detail. I guess what I'm saying boils down to "increase your range" - if you're a coder you'll be more useful/valuable the more you can look out. (Whether that be in terms of business sense or devops practicalities).