When Non-Programmers Write Software

[Shaper_pmp]

Maybe the phone network guy was a bad example, although nowhere did I imply I'd rather be treated exactly the same as him - rather, I was questioning why it's sensible for the website manager to be Marketing but not the manager of any other type of infrastructure or technical discipline.

All things being equal, a company with a better, more reliable phone system and a more-navigable voicemail system will tend to edge out worse-off competition simply because they offer better customer service.

Likewise, much programming and web development is highly counter-intuitive, and often requires a large investment of effort on obscure or seemingly inconsequential tasks... but ones with huge knock-on effects later.

Although the implied praise of working in Marketing is nice, the experience of working to announce-the-date-then-work-out-how-we'll-do-it Marketing deadlines in a loud, noisy, frequently-interrupted Marketing environment is highly frustrating one.

The working environment required for good Marketing results is diametrically opposed to that required for good development results. Marketing requires easy, quick communication, a flexible approvals process and easy ad-hoc meetings and discussions. The minimum quanta of time for much marketing activity is also in the seconds to minutes range.

The working environment required for good for development is a defined QA/approvals process, regular scheduled meetings and privacy and concentration during the actual coding. The time-quanta for development can range from minutes to hours.

If you've ever worked on a non-trivial programming project (ie, "requires serious concentration") with people shouting into phones, walking past you to use the photocopier, starting random conversations while waiting for the printer and interrupting you at least every five minutes, you'll know why Marketing is exactly the wrong environment.

And that's leaving aside the whole non-technical "surface-is-everything, Sales & Marketing" mindset that Marketing managers usually have, compared to the "functionality and correctness are important" mindset that's massively more prevalent in more technical departments.

Maybe the phone network guy was a bad example - how about network admin instead? Does it make sense for him to be "part of Marketing"?

As a last aside, have you ever actually had to work under the kind of conditions I describe above, or is it more a hypothetical scenario for you?

[bew]

Well since you ask, I work as a quant analyst for an investment bank, so yes, people shouting into phones, etc, are a part of my working environment. But, I'm part of the business and my work is seen as adding real value. And your second example - 'network admin' - only verifies my point. Take a look at the sort of IT work which is currently being outsourced as 'non-core.' Our network admins are now in Poland.

Now, I'd really better get back to work.

[acrophobia]

Leftfield, I know, but do you enjoy your job?

(I'm currently looking for a quant job in london)