Software: Its Dark Side and Search
September 10, 2013
I read “The Dark Side of Software Development That No One Talks About.” Well, excuuuuse me — as Steve Martin the comedian once said — my goslings and I have yammered about “bad” developers and the rise of the nerd kings for years.
A couple of the goslings are/were nerd kings until they discovered one or more of these areas of interests: People of the opposite sex or just interspecies interaction in general, money, power, clients who cannot log in to an email account, automobile racing, weapons. I think I have covered some of the interests. If I omitted some triggers, excuuuuse me.
Well, snacks are available at many high-tech firms. How about an Odwalla and some trail mix? A happy quack to Family Wings for the image: http://familywings.org/from-star-wars-to-heart-wars/come-to-the-dark-side-cookies/
The write up points out, “Software developers are jerks.” The write up explains the jerkiness reasonably well. Among the characteristics mentioned are:
Not everyone has your best interests at heart
Vileness (great word, by the way)
Bloated egos (I thought every CEO needed a jet plain and a trophy nerd)
The “cure”, quite surprisingly, is almost Jungian:
there needs to be more of us—especially those of us who’ve been in the field for awhile—who tell people why they can do it and how easy it really is.
My view is less psychy.
First, since most folks can click a mouse, this expertise immediately converts to technical expertise. Consequently the likelihood that a development project will move forward as if on Teflon is zero. Everyone has an informed opinion, and the folks with “power” dictate what happens. Just look at interfaces which are unusable or odd ball iPad apps which are almost unusable without mindless tapping for evidence.
Second, the split between those who can code and those who cannot is another type of one percent societal split. Talking about a method is different from implementing the method in software. Since it is more fun to talk than work, the process of creating an innovation effectively stops. Does the world need another wearable device like a smart watch? I suppose so, but what are the fancy watchmakers doing? Those throwbacks keep making watches some of which cost more than an Autonomy, Endeca, or SharePoint Search implementation. Nissan is doing a smart watch. Great idea.
Third, the need for software solutions is rising rapidly. I just heard a podcast which argued that Microsoft needs to focus only on apps. That’s a great idea. My wife has an iPhone and I can’t figure out which colorful icon does what. We need more apps. I think that top developers can meet this need whether I understand the solution or not.
Stepping back, let me ask a question. Does any of the enterprise software work without legions of technical experts applying bandages 24×7? Of the hundreds of thousands of apps, how many are in for the long haul? Of the thousands of open source programs, how many will survive the loss of a couple of key committers?
Software and the type of experts described in the article have helped make modern life brittle. With expertise concentrated and the constructs on the edge of functionality, will the software infrastructure support an increasingly complex future?
And what about search? Findability is not making much progress. I am not sure the developers are to blame. Computational boundaries, the complexity of language, and the “needs” of the busy worker contribute to systems which are increasingly alike. The enterprise search systems are equally useful and equally disappointing. Good business for consultants and technical wellness staff comes from the present situation.
Stephen E Arnold, September 10, 2013
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