Thomas Hobbes claimed that life in a state of nature is "…solitary, poor, nasty,
brutish, and short." With a few notable exceptions, the lives of software developers
are the same way. Their most basic needs aren't being met. In a world like that, folks
revert to the natural condition of competing for scarce resources just to survive.
That's all they can do. They certainly can't thrive.
You may be like the many very intelligent and talented programmers we know
who seem to go from one failed project to another. Often, a particular project started
out great, but it went south in a hurry.
It became clear that your leadership made unreasonable promises, and set the
bar too high. The inevitable technical and organizational obstacles sprang up. Scope
crept. Maybe, after Herculean efforts (often at the expense of your family, social
life, and physical or mental health), the project actually produced something. Not
something to be truly proud of, mind you, but something. Equally likely, the project
got cancelled, but that didn't surprise you or anyone else. The warning signs of
impending failure were all over the place and screaming for attention.
This is the norm. Being part of a project that provides an enriching learning
environment, produces something good, and doesn't kill you along the way is a
fantasy, an unattainable dream. You believe success is just luck, and the chances are
too slim to count on. The best you can hope for is to survive without being maimed.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comments are welcome!