I
have worked with many developers in my professional career. I worked
with extremely bright developers who lacked any kind of social skills
and developers who could barely understand basic concepts but could be
my best friend. I know developers that spend all their free time coding
and others who only learn as they go.
So what makes a good
developer? Math skills? Logic and reason? It is definitely a blend of
many skills that make up the perfect developer. It also depends on the
specific role, do you communicate with a large team or the customer? Do
you work by yourself on complex scientific data logic? Are you
developing intricate enterprise level applications or small IOS apps?
I
have worked on all sorts of projects from complex to simple, small to
enterprise, solo and on large teams. I have concluded there are two main
skills that any developer should have if they want to succeed in almost
any environment.
1. A Problem Solving Mindset
Simple.
Whether its a website, large data application or a financial API, the
goal is the same. Solve the problem. Whatever it takes, however long,
whatever you need to learn. Your mindset is to solve it. Period.
2. Understanding your Clients Needs
When
I say client in this context I mean everyone you work with is your
client. The actual customer, your fellow developers, the lead, the
project manager and even the CEO.
I know my fellow
developer needs me to finish my task so they can work on theirs. I know
my project manager needs me to communicate my status frequently so he
can keep his client happy. I know my CEO needs me to produce high
quality interfaces so it looks good when they present it to prospective
customers.
The reality is the quality of your code is
important but in the business world it is not the only goal. The goal is
to satisfy your customers ... and most of them never look at your code.
I
also want to mention that it does not take a genius to be a developer. I
truly believe anyone who is willing to put in the effort can succeed in
this industry! You can take courses or learn it yourself, the internet
is full of resources, free and cheap.
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Do
you need help figuring out if you should commit the money to upgrade
your code base and/or technology? Visit
our website and contact us
contact@levelforward.com for your FREE consultation.
Follow us on twitter
@levelforward & Ilya
@waitingfortoday
The age old question: "To refactor or not to refactor"
Should
you upgrade your code base? Should you move to the cloud? Should you
spend thousands of dollars now on something that you won't see direct
value from?
Almost always the answer is yes. Here are the reasons:
- More developers to choose from/attract (no body wants to work on outdated tech)
- Developer satisfaction (average developer jumps jobs every two years)
- Ability to develop faster and make changes (this is the reason for new tech)
- Eliminate bugs (the endless loop of fixing one bug to create five more)
- Compete with new emerging companies (take it from a developer, I don't want to work on old code...not to mention as a customer I want a fast UI that looks like Facebook or Google)
- Save money on developers (the reality is you will either get incompetent developers or grossly overpay)
I
know it may cost more now. But it will cost a heck of a lot more later.
I have seen it countless times. Short-sidedness to not make the right
decision to refactor. Do you have 10...20...30...50 developers dedicated to
maintaining and fixing bugs on an outdated code base. These resources
can be allocated to developing new features and improvements instead of to upkeep.
I am not saying jump on the
latest greatest technology that may disappear in a year. But if you are
hosting your site on Windows Server 2003 or your code is written in
VBScript... take the wise words of Beyonce...let me upgrade you!
Do
you need help figuring out if you should commit the money to upgrade
your code base and/or technology? Visit our website and contact us contact@levelforward.com for your FREE consultation.
Follow us on twitter @levelforward & Ilya @waitingfortoday
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