Wednesday, 21 November 2007

Nomenclature of developer types

Let's go through a few types of developers to distract myself from the (literal) pain in my neck.

The Cowboy

This is pretty self descriptive. This is the type of person that doesn't "need" a test suite, documentation, or user testing. They *know* everything and if you just leave them alone they'll be able to do everything. They are also the type of people that break the build, don't implement features properly, and leave the system in a poor state because of lack of documentation. Typically this is the type of developer that you need to just put out to pasture.

The True Believer

This don't imply that they are all for TDD or agile processes. You can have RUP true believer (TB) working in an XP shop. All that it means is that they know and are more comfortable with doing things a certain way and no matter how you ask them to do things, they'll end up doing (or half doing) the way they believe things to be "right". If you have TB's, they had all better subscribe to the same belief.

The Saboteur

Like in the 6th sense, saboteur's don't always know they are saboteur's. They could be this way because of their skill level or because they are trying to change things from the inside, but are doing it poorly. Most often this is because you have a mix of TB's with different beliefs. Saboteur's some times sabotage code, sometimes process, sometimes moral and sometimes meetings.

The Hero

"Save the project, save the world." These types will do whatever it takes to make the project a success. These often are TB's that are picking their battles carefully. It's a fine line between a saboteur and a hero and these can walk it carefully. Process changes come from these people. They are usually "big picture" type of people.

The Code Monkey

These will work on whatever you want, and will work however you want. They're great because they will just implement what you give them. Don't look for process improvement from these people though because they are not the type to rock the boat in any way.

The Heartless

Often these are TB's that have lost too many battles. They've been beaten down so much they've totally given up. They'll do the work, but they just don't care. All they are looking for is the paycheque and for the clock to strike "home time".

Can you think of any?

2 comments:

  1. I'd add "All of the above". I think depending on the day, the tasks, and the over-all vibe from the office I can be be each and every one of those titles.
    - Andrew

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  2. I think I'm a heartless hero. By definition I don't even know what to think of that. :)

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