Joy in Work – Software Development
Posted on November 25, 2007 Comments (11)
This wonderful cartoon shows the all too common despair in work. Software programmers are more likely to really enjoy what they do. There are many reasons for this not the least of which is that they have a fair amount of control over their careers. If they don’t like what they are asked to do, the tools they are asked to work with… they will (more than others) leave for another job. Some managers get frustrated that such people are not willing to put up with the normal bother everyone else seems willing to accept (programmers are often “unreasonable”). But I see an occupation that is more focused on joy in work than most. And creating joy in work is what managers should be worrying about – not getting troublemakers to fall into line.
Why I Program In Ruby (And Maybe Why You Shouldn’t):
…
Don’t program in Ruby because you want power or efficiency. Don’t program in Ruby because you think you “should”, either. Program in Ruby because you like it. And if you don’t like it, don’t program in it.
I enjoy programming using Ruby on Rails.
Related: Hiring Software Developers – posts on improving software development – Don’t ask employees to be passionate about the company! – A Career in Computer Programming – IT Operations as a Competitive Advantage – Reddit, a living example of how software coders think – Focus on Customers and Employees – Signs You Have a Great Job… or Not
Categories: Deming, IT, Management, Psychology, Software Development
Tags: John Hunter, Joy in Work, programming, Psychology, Ruby, Software Development
11 Responses to “Joy in Work – Software Development”
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December 12th, 2007 @ 6:11 pm
I have not been able to find a College or University
where the Deming Cycle or other related quality program
is a part of the Engineering or Information Technology
curriculum.
I have found that a computer program can and should be
considered a very special type of Deming Planning Document.
I would be very interested in finding someone with
similar experience.
Please look at my web-site, http://www.whatifwe.com
for futher information.
Any comments or referrals would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You
Robert Adams
February 22nd, 2008 @ 3:59 pm
“I will start with a question, if you have a spare £400 in your development budget do you A) Reward your star programmer with a £400 bonus or B) Buy him a 24 Inch 1920×1200 LCD screen? If you answered ‘A’ then you need to read on…”
November 20th, 2008 @ 8:20 am
“The following list is an attempt to cover some of the issues that will invariably come up when hackers without previous experience of the business community first start working in it…”
December 29th, 2008 @ 7:15 am
Programmers also tend to be active life long learners… They also are more likely not to accept what most people are willing to accept and can therefore be annoying to some….
January 7th, 2009 @ 4:06 pm
I wish I had the luxury I coding what I like and in the language I like. The painful truth however is that I can only do that in my spare time, and if I do then my girlfriend will kill me
We have a rule about computers in my spare time 
As for work….I code in whatever is needed (usually C++ or .NET). Can’t say I dislike them but I’d love to do some more low level programming (kernel programming) in pure C and assembler 
June 5th, 2009 @ 6:22 pm
In the information technology field the standard practice is to include a large number of basically irrelevant skills as requirements. And then managers wonder why they don’t get decent applicants…
June 9th, 2009 @ 6:54 pm
[...] Joy in Work, Software Development – The Software Developer Labor Market – A Career in Computer Programming – The Manager FAQ – IT [...]
June 23rd, 2009 @ 10:52 am
[...] specific to IT, and some are more important in software development (where as I have said before employees have higher expectations of management than most employees do), but many have truth for many employees. A good manager can create an [...]
July 16th, 2009 @ 9:16 am
[...] work we have been use Ruby for the last 3 years and have found it to be a powerful language that helps make writing software applications fun. And that is important. By providing a powerful language and a rails framework that takes away much [...]
August 12th, 2010 @ 6:57 am
I am also a strong proponent of agile software development. Information Technology projects have a poor success rate. The best method, I have found, to provide better software solutions is agile development…
October 4th, 2011 @ 3:42 pm
[...] To get really good IT people you need to actually manage your current IT staff properly. Then word will get out that your organization is not run by pointy haired bosses (phb) and good IT people will be open to joining. This obviously is not a quick fix. But this practice is the key. This is just respect for people with a eye on the special needs of creative IT people. [...]