Just because we can doesn’t mean we should
Posted by Mark Johnson on Fri, Jun 19, 2009 @ 08:26 AM
Sometimes the latest and greatest may not be the greatest for you. As DSI/ITI's software architect, I am faced with technology driven decisions on a daily basis. Often I receive emails from our other software engineers suggesting a new product, or new technology that we should use in our application. Sometimes these suggestions even come in the form of sales pitches from other vendors that want us to use their technology instead of their competitor's technology. Sometimes it makes sense to use the latest and greatest product or technique in our applications, but many times I have to stand my ground and explain why it is a better idea to use a tried and proven or more universally accepted method or technology instead. And I will tell you, that can be hard!
As a guy who loves technology, I love the opportunity to play with the latest and greatest stuff in the software world. There are technologies to improve your quality, improve your speed, improve your time to market, reduce development time, and on and on. Many times, there are things that have no direct bearing on the customers, such as the particular way we write the code. I think there is something in the genes of a software engineer that wants us to use these new cool things.
But, here is the kicker. We are software engineers, not people who are hired to play with new gadgets or write something just because it is cool. We are here to build software to serve our customers. Sometimes these two things coincide and sometimes they do not. It is far too easy to lose sight of what we are supposed to do.
So, let me ask these questions of my readers in the corrections realm:
What, as software engineers, are we not understanding?
Is there some aspect to our products that, while it may meet some technical goal, falls short of what you expect?
On the flip-side, are there any areas where we've been too conservative?
Is there anywhere we could have used a new product, but didn't and your experience as a customer has suffered?
I'd love to hear your comments on the subject, so use the "Click here to read/write comments" button and leave your thoughts.