Doug Ross @ Journal

Software Poseurs

I noticed an interesting thread running on the JOS forum. One of the original posters wrote:

I am not pleased with these Express Products. Take a look at the blurb on the Express page. They're targeting "enthusiasts" and "hobbyists". There is no way that this is a good thing. Remember when Joel said: "There’s something weird about software development, some mystical quality, that makes all kinds of people think they know how to do it. I’ve worked at dotcom-type companies full of liberal arts majors with no software experience or training who nevertheless were convinced that they knew how to manage software teams and design user interfaces. This is weird, because nobody thinks they know how to remove a burst appendix, or rebuild a car engine, unless they actually know how to do it, but for some reason there are all these people floating around who think they know everything there is to know about software development." Well, these Express editions are just going to foster that type of "there's nothing to software development - anyone can do it!" type of thinking. I say again...there is no WAY that this is a good thing. It's just going to further commoditize development talent.

Of course, this set off a Slashdot-esque cornucopia of responses ranging from, "What a load of elitist crap" to "I've made a reasonable amount of money being called in to fix disastrous 'applications' built by hobbyists who were able to sell themselves to small business owners who didn't know any better."

My take: is this anything new?. Lowering the bar for poseurs in the computer field reached its zenith in the mid- to late-nineties. At that time, the twin juggernauts of the world-wide web and Y2K had pitched even the most conservative companies and governments into an IT spending boom the likes of which we'll never see again [1].

For the most part, the downturn that began in April, 2000 flushed most of the poseurs down the swirling vortex of history. Projects that relied on a Liberal Arts major who had taught himself HTML, an MCSE with six months of real-world experience, and a graphic artist ("to make the site look really sweet") ended up in the dustbin of expired domain names.

In other words, most companies have come to their senses. This isn't rocket science, folks. You always get what you pay for.

The lesson learned still applies today. Companies that award projects based solely upon rate have -- and will continue -- to get burned. I know one such CIO who has scorch marks on his rear from repeatedly late, restarted and altogether failed projects. The smart senior managers find talent in every venue. That talent can come from India, China, West Virginia or Boston.

So if the act of turning data into knowledge relates to your business, you will need to have better bit-wranglers than the next guy. And they're not too hard to find. They're the guys with the stellar track records who can't be brought in on the cheap. Supply and demand doesn't change, even if the number of poseurs is an order of magnitude higher than what it is today.

Because results... is results.

Visual Studio Express - a good thing?

[1] While I hate to mix politics with technology :-), I will go so far as to say this. The majority of Bill Clinton's "economic expansion legacy" was due to two simple twists of fate:

1) Tim Berners-Lee, who just happened to invent the world-wide web, and:
2) The Y2K frenzy (everyone who still has Krugerrands and over 1,000 rounds of ammo in their basements, please raise your hands)

The fact that both overlapped with his Presidency is something he should give thanks for every single day. That being said, the downturn that occurred in April, 2000 is no more his fault than Y2K.