Comments on: Users Have Problems, Developers Have Solutions http://www.codesimplicity.com/post/users-have-problems-developers-have-solutions/ Sun, 19 May 2013 16:21:11 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.4 By: Max Kanat-Alexander http://www.codesimplicity.com/post/users-have-problems-developers-have-solutions/comment-page-1/#comment-3439 Max Kanat-Alexander Fri, 18 Jan 2013 08:10:19 +0000 http://www.codesimplicity.com/?p=1019#comment-3439 Amen! That's awesome about deleting all that code. Removing large swaths of code is one of my favorite (and most frequent) tasks on projects that I've just joined. It's also one of my most frequent code review comments--does this really need to exist? -Max Amen! That’s awesome about deleting all that code. Removing large swaths of code is one of my favorite (and most frequent) tasks on projects that I’ve just joined. It’s also one of my most frequent code review comments–does this really need to exist?

-Max

]]> By: Simon http://www.codesimplicity.com/post/users-have-problems-developers-have-solutions/comment-page-1/#comment-3429 Simon Wed, 16 Jan 2013 22:07:22 +0000 http://www.codesimplicity.com/?p=1019#comment-3429 I agree completely, from both sides of the fence. From the developer perspective, some of the worst parts of our codebase come from developers attempting to implement what the customer asked for, rather than working out what the customer actually needed - the result usually being something that's both complicated to maintain, and which doesn't actually solve the customer's problem. About the only positive is that since what was delivered *does* meet the customer's stated requirements, we get paid for it. But if that's where the worst code comes from, a close runner-up comes from developers attempting to solve problems that don't actually exist. Usually from architect-types who have little exposure to customer problems, implementing grand infrastructure processes that aim to bring order, but mostly just introduce greater complexity. Over the past few weeks, I've had the opportunity to simplify things, and have deleted literally tens of thousands of lines of infrastructure/architecture code that was simply unnecessary, and sometimes outright unused. I agree completely, from both sides of the fence. From the developer perspective, some of the worst parts of our codebase come from developers attempting to implement what the customer asked for, rather than working out what the customer actually needed – the result usually being something that’s both complicated to maintain, and which doesn’t actually solve the customer’s problem. About the only positive is that since what was delivered *does* meet the customer’s stated requirements, we get paid for it.

But if that’s where the worst code comes from, a close runner-up comes from developers attempting to solve problems that don’t actually exist. Usually from architect-types who have little exposure to customer problems, implementing grand infrastructure processes that aim to bring order, but mostly just introduce greater complexity. Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to simplify things, and have deleted literally tens of thousands of lines of infrastructure/architecture code that was simply unnecessary, and sometimes outright unused.

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