Beefy Boxes and Bandwidth Generously Provided by pair Networks
Perl-Sensitive Sunglasses
 
PerlMonks  

Re: Re: How do you avoid "Code Burnout"?

by chromatic (Archbishop)
on Jun 30, 2003 at 21:46 UTC ( [id://270339]=note: print w/replies, xml ) Need Help??


in reply to Re: How do you avoid "Code Burnout"?
in thread How do you avoid "Code Burnout"?

I can see the appeal of that idea, but I respectfully disagree. My reasoning is three-fold:

  • The most reliable way to get better programmers in general is a program of mentoring and apprenticeship.
  • The most effective way to build maintainable, useful software that meets the customer's actual needs requires frequent, small deliveries. The software is always being both maintained and enhanced.
  • One of the biggest problems in software quality today is that people won't read code.

If you have repetitive work, automate it. If you want to know if software works, test it from the start. If you don't know exactly what the customer wants, ask him. If you want to train a new programmer, pair him up with experienced programmers.

  • Comment on Re: Re: How do you avoid "Code Burnout"?

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: Re: Re: How do you avoid "Code Burnout"?
by chunlou (Curate) on Jun 30, 2003 at 22:22 UTC
    You're right.

    In practice (which happens often to any area) nothing stops a mentor from giving "boring" work to his apprentices, so that he could be spared to do something more exciting.

    It's not ideology, it's just psychology. And the issue isn't how right you're, but whether you get your executives' buy-in and support.

    (An anecdote: some people think "small, frequent deliveries" means they don't need to write as accurate a spec and development magically becomes easier--hence, e.g., testing isn't as much needed.)

Log In?
Username:
Password:

What's my password?
Create A New User
Domain Nodelet?
Node Status?
node history
Node Type: note [id://270339]
help
Chatterbox?
and the web crawler heard nothing...

How do I use this?Last hourOther CB clients
Other Users?
Others having a coffee break in the Monastery: (2)
As of 2024-04-26 05:21 GMT
Sections?
Information?
Find Nodes?
Leftovers?
    Voting Booth?

    No recent polls found