Turning code into product

Joel Spolsky has a fabbo article on why your software company needs more than just programmers. The rest of a software company is there to support the programmers. It’s there to make sure the most complex stuff they have to worry about is solving the really hard problems they enjoy solving. They’ll get distracted from … Continue reading “Turning code into product”

Joel Spolsky has a fabbo article on why your software company needs more than just programmers. The rest of a software company is there to support the programmers. It’s there to make sure the most complex stuff they have to worry about is solving the really hard problems they enjoy solving. They’ll get distracted from their mission by a leaky faucet, they’ll lose valuable sleep over P.A.Y.E. and V.A.T., they’ll lose part of their beard when they have to keep track of rent, rates, insurances, etc.

His example of Dolly Parton is a great one. No-one expects Dolly to be able to set up an amp, hawk records to distributors, paste up posters about her next tour. She sings. And we listen. She may not be your cup of tea, but the machine that enables her performance on your iPod is undeniable. As another example, modern armies run at a ratio of 7:1 for support staff: fighting men.

Joel has a list of things he identifies as ways to make programmers productive. Pay attention.

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