[DUG] [Off topic] Senior developer

[John Bird]

Here is an example where even one line changed in a program may take months 
and is yet considered high productivity:

For a fascinating description of how the upper echelons of software 
developement work at the team who write the Space Shuttle software see

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/06/writestuff.html?page=0%2C2

Quote:

What's going on here is the kind of nuts-and-bolts work that defines the 
drive for group perfection -- a drive that is aggressively intolerant of 
ego-driven hotshots. In the shuttle group's culture, there are no superstar 
programmers. The whole approach to developing software is intentionally 
designed not to rely on any particular person.

And the culture is equally intolerant of creativity, the individual coding 
flourishes and styles that are the signature of the all-night software 
world. "People ask, doesn't this process stifle creativity? You have to do 
exactly what the manual says, and you've got someone looking over your 
shoulder," says Keller. "The answer is, yes, the process does stifle 
creativity."

and at the end:

"And that's the point: the shuttle process is so extreme, the drive for 
perfection is so focused, that it reveals what's required to achieve 
relentless execution. The most important things the shuttle group does --  
carefully planning the software in advance, writing no code until the design 
is complete, making no changes without supporting blueprints, keeping a 
completely accurate record of the code -- are not expensive. The process 
isn't even rocket science. Its standard practice in almost every engineering 
discipline except software engineering.

Plastered on a conference room wall, an informal slogan of the on-board 
shuttle group captures the essence of keeping focused on the process: "The 
sooner you fall behind, the more time you will have to catch up." "


John