Roy Schestowitz wrote:
> What makes open-source developers tick?
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | When compared with some 110 developers working for Swiss software
> | companies, those engaged in open-source projects were seen to have more
> | fun. The reasons for this turned out to be not the absence of a formal
> | hierarchy or of the higher pressure exerted on individuals within
> | company projects, but rather the presence of a credible vision and
> | above all the greater challenges open-source projects present to
> | programming skills.
> `----
>
> http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/75475
The problem is not what makes "Open Source" developers tick, but what makes
developers tick. Developers for the most part see themselves as skilled
artisans. The problem is that the money that appeared to be associated with
software development sucked in a lot of people who were only in it for the
money. These people look down on programmers as being 'code cutters' or
'software monkeys' because they don't understand what it is that makes
programmers tick.
On the other hand, it is a general problem that a lot of management types
are very poor leaders. A good leader is someone who engenders in his people
the understandanding that the leader has some well defined goals and these
are the best for everyone.
More often than not, HR puts some PHB with a degree in Smartology in charge
of developers and the clash of understanding of how to solve the problems
only causes problems. On the other hand, some companies promote out of the
ranks without providing the training that is required to manage others.
This is also a problem.
Added to the problems caused by management are the problems that result from
poorly defined requirements and the need to work on a borked platform,
where there is no chance of improvement. A lot of effort is required to
work around the faults in the OS. This causes slipages in deliverables.
Still the PHB's have no understanding for the problems. After all, any
platform that is good enough to write a document on must be good enough for
any task ;-)
I feel sorry for a lot of programmers. Life can be very tough.
Ian
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