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The IT profession
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retromodcoza
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Properly managed and run software projects are expensive and as the article stated it - are extremely complex. Companies often want the lowest cost solution - and the one they can implement the fastest.
Because of uninformed managers and business owners, bids from vendors who will do the job properly are often considered to be unrealistic or too time consuming. It is often tempting to hire the person who tells you what you want to hear.
Aligning business objectives with IT takes a large amount of time and is the backbone of successful projects. Many vendors (especially with grade 12 ed) pay no attention to this crucial factor , and managers who approve projects rely on the developers to take care of it.
Lack of formal education and experience combined with optimistic and uninformed procurement ultimately end up in a mess of failed projects , lawsuits and tit for tat accusations.
The lure of a quick cheap fix to software needs will ensure this trend continues....
Because of uninformed managers and business owners, bids from vendors who will do the job properly are often considered to be unrealistic or too time consuming. It is often tempting to hire the person who tells you what you want to hear.
Aligning business objectives with IT takes a large amount of time and is the backbone of successful projects. Many vendors (especially with grade 12 ed) pay no attention to this crucial factor , and managers who approve projects rely on the developers to take care of it.
Lack of formal education and experience combined with optimistic and uninformed procurement ultimately end up in a mess of failed projects , lawsuits and tit for tat accusations.
The lure of a quick cheap fix to software needs will ensure this trend continues....
Messugga
Honorary Master
I'd kill to work for a company with proper planning and analysis being performed before actual development takes place. Alas, I'm yet to hear of such a company in Bloemfontein.
As retro says, these things cost money and clients aren't willing to foot the bill for it when the guys around the corner can offer "the same" service in half the time and at half the price.
As retro says, these things cost money and clients aren't willing to foot the bill for it when the guys around the corner can offer "the same" service in half the time and at half the price.
tjunyat
Senior Member
Interesting article, but how exactly does the author propose companies and the law implement his suggestions?
Formal education, i.e. Every programmer must have a degree?
Companies not buying software/requesting development from companies not registered with some over seeing body at an overhead cost that's probably prohibitive?
Something else?
Seriously, as retro and messugga say, cost determines whether someone will go with that company or not if the company claims they can do it.
Formal education, i.e. Every programmer must have a degree?
Companies not buying software/requesting development from companies not registered with some over seeing body at an overhead cost that's probably prohibitive?
Something else?
Seriously, as retro and messugga say, cost determines whether someone will go with that company or not if the company claims they can do it.
The problem with all the ideas is very simple, the degrees and professional certificates doesn't mean much, I have worked at a medium sized business as an IT manager and tried to hire people to replace a very good IT person (who does not have a degree) and then its like good luck to me.
The ones with MCSE can't really handle MS server, they don't have a clue what to do when the exchange server goes down, or when we needed certain rights to be changed, and managing firewall was like, woohoo lets just allow everything then it will work for sure.
The ones with an IT degree really has no idea how to turn their learning of C++ / C programming into PHP (which is like the same stuff) and use it for web.
i can speak from experience that when I first got into a job I had no idea that most programming languages function the same way,The education system simply does not expose learners to the real world enough, I have a Degree in IT so I am speaking from experience here.
The ones with MCSE can't really handle MS server, they don't have a clue what to do when the exchange server goes down, or when we needed certain rights to be changed, and managing firewall was like, woohoo lets just allow everything then it will work for sure.
The ones with an IT degree really has no idea how to turn their learning of C++ / C programming into PHP (which is like the same stuff) and use it for web.
i can speak from experience that when I first got into a job I had no idea that most programming languages function the same way,The education system simply does not expose learners to the real world enough, I have a Degree in IT so I am speaking from experience here.
vodacom3g
Vodacom Representative
The 'Grade 12' problems sits on both sides of the fence.
Uneducated and inexperienced (in IT) end-users buy from uneducated and inexperienced companies. And then often price is the only real factor that is considered.
Specs may be written and even evaluated against, but few RFPs pay more than lip service to actual ability to deliver.
A recurring theme in management over the last few decades is the escalating cost of IT with a non-linear escalation in functionality. While this point may be argued, it is definitely one the biggest moans coming from corporates. And looking at the stats in the OP, it is not surprising.
One of the biggest contributors to the bad rap IT is getting is this so-called 'fast tracking' of IT education. Anyone can nowadays get some kind of IT 'qualification' after a few weeks of attending some course but the reality is they have very little underlying knowledge of the subject.
Uneducated and inexperienced (in IT) end-users buy from uneducated and inexperienced companies. And then often price is the only real factor that is considered.
Specs may be written and even evaluated against, but few RFPs pay more than lip service to actual ability to deliver.
A recurring theme in management over the last few decades is the escalating cost of IT with a non-linear escalation in functionality. While this point may be argued, it is definitely one the biggest moans coming from corporates. And looking at the stats in the OP, it is not surprising.
One of the biggest contributors to the bad rap IT is getting is this so-called 'fast tracking' of IT education. Anyone can nowadays get some kind of IT 'qualification' after a few weeks of attending some course but the reality is they have very little underlying knowledge of the subject.
IT is a lie.
What they teach you in varsity and what you do in the real world are two different things.
Varsity IT work is fun, challenging and you actually learn new and exciting things. IT at work is boring, mundane and thankless.
Wish I studied something else to be honest...
</rant>
What they teach you in varsity and what you do in the real world are two different things.
Varsity IT work is fun, challenging and you actually learn new and exciting things. IT at work is boring, mundane and thankless.
Wish I studied something else to be honest...
</rant>
TelkomUseless
Honorary Master
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THAT is one the biggest problems in IT. I have heard so many stories about people doing 1 week course (entry level course), then they are a "senior" developer wants R40k p month. They get a job, screw up.. leave then someone has to fix these issues.
2nd.. companies just want CHEAP labour. Managers wants everything done now, without decent planning and TESTING.
Software is more complex than building a car/house you name it. But it must done quicker /faster than building a house, even if the software is more complex than building a double story house.
Good luck on them trying to "fix" this situation. I have been in IT for 10 years (working experience). I have seen projects fail , projects released ... and it's not always IT's fault. Business is just as guilty
The_Unbeliever
Honorary Master
penny wise, pound foolish
I agree with most parts of the article but think "IT Profession" is a too wide description. Sure everybody need to have the same foundation that they can talk and understand each other, but within the IT Profession there are many different areas of specialization. Just like a GP shouldn't perform open heart surgery, a programmer shouldn't do project management.
I have been involved in IT projects for the past 15 odd years and do not have a degree. I don't have any qualifications but started with my BSc last year. Thus far I have gained a whole bunch of theoretical knowledge which I am yet to apply in my day to day working on large and complex systems with multinationals. Most of the things I am being thought I have known already and am applying on a daily basis.
In past experience, a lot of the people with the qualifications were the people hampering the project. The people not willing to push the boundaries and found innovative solutions. It is almost as if they are unable to do it if it doesn't exist in a textbook written after many years of research. I have worked with a person with a MSc specialised in database design who could tell me exactly what an index is and what it is used for, but when I asked this person to design the database, he designed a flat database full of redundant data with no indices. Fine for your varsity project but it doesn't work if you are doing 30000 transactions a second.
Then there were those degreed people that were completely the opposite, those with the drive and the will the push boundaries and try new innovative solutions to problems. Such were a person solving the deadlock issue on 30000 transactions per second allowing 2000 users to get valuable information out of the data in real time.
Unfortunately the IT industry is just too dynamic and various components changes on a constant basis.
To some extend software development is an art. What you did yesterday to solve a problem may not necessarily apply today to the same problem due to other factors. This makes project managers lives difficult.
If software development was as easy as building a bridge, we wouldn't have eccentric people working in the IT industry. Sure you need to be a civil engineer to design and oversee the building of the bridge but the people actually doing the work, most of the time, start of as unskilled labourers who can do what they do because of past experience.
I have been involved in IT projects for the past 15 odd years and do not have a degree. I don't have any qualifications but started with my BSc last year. Thus far I have gained a whole bunch of theoretical knowledge which I am yet to apply in my day to day working on large and complex systems with multinationals. Most of the things I am being thought I have known already and am applying on a daily basis.
In past experience, a lot of the people with the qualifications were the people hampering the project. The people not willing to push the boundaries and found innovative solutions. It is almost as if they are unable to do it if it doesn't exist in a textbook written after many years of research. I have worked with a person with a MSc specialised in database design who could tell me exactly what an index is and what it is used for, but when I asked this person to design the database, he designed a flat database full of redundant data with no indices. Fine for your varsity project but it doesn't work if you are doing 30000 transactions a second.
Then there were those degreed people that were completely the opposite, those with the drive and the will the push boundaries and try new innovative solutions to problems. Such were a person solving the deadlock issue on 30000 transactions per second allowing 2000 users to get valuable information out of the data in real time.
Unfortunately the IT industry is just too dynamic and various components changes on a constant basis.
To some extend software development is an art. What you did yesterday to solve a problem may not necessarily apply today to the same problem due to other factors. This makes project managers lives difficult.
If software development was as easy as building a bridge, we wouldn't have eccentric people working in the IT industry. Sure you need to be a civil engineer to design and oversee the building of the bridge but the people actually doing the work, most of the time, start of as unskilled labourers who can do what they do because of past experience.
RaptorSA
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Agreed. I've been into software design for the last 5 years, and the thing that gets me most is the fact that companies simply do not understand how important it is to define their exact needs when requesting a new piece of software (and participating in the process all the time).
It's not like engineering, where you can come up with a design, it gets accepted and you commence building until the job's done. With software the biggest hurdle is not necessarily doing the work (which can be evaluated, tested etc. based on a methodology) but knowing WHAT to do...
Personally my biggest hurdle is always understanding the business (something I hate, since it seems 'bleak' compared to actually building the software), the rest are details and can be resolved.
Those who say that IT university degrees etc. are useless simply don't understand the point of getting a degree in the first place. It's not about being a technical wizzkid when you leave Varsity, it's about building a mindset that allows you to better understand all the different components (IT, business and project related) that eventually helps you in creating a new system...the rest you build up with experience.
Technology moves too quickly for formal education to keep up.
Software systems are not houses, bridges, aircraft, etc. etc. Direct comparisons are simply not valid.
Bottom line: If you want a successful project, get yourself a project manager with a proven track record and let him (her) get on with the job...and that includes hiring and firing people, managing feature sets, the project plan and the tec design process.
The mark of a true professional is the one who gets the job done. (Something of an artist as Albert noted)
The guy with the shiny degree can screw up as spectacularly as the guy with the matric.
For techniques on how to detect (sneaky) IT incompetents, see: How to detect sneaky incompetents
Software systems are not houses, bridges, aircraft, etc. etc. Direct comparisons are simply not valid.
Bottom line: If you want a successful project, get yourself a project manager with a proven track record and let him (her) get on with the job...and that includes hiring and firing people, managing feature sets, the project plan and the tec design process.
The mark of a true professional is the one who gets the job done. (Something of an artist as Albert noted)
The guy with the shiny degree can screw up as spectacularly as the guy with the matric.
For techniques on how to detect (sneaky) IT incompetents, see: How to detect sneaky incompetents
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hyperian
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I agree with this. Your degree isn't meant to teach you java or c++: its purpose is to, after 3/4 years, make sure that you can systematically work through a problem and define an efficient solution to solve it. Its true that there is a shortfall between university and the working world, but the skills you gain while at university will be with you long after you adapt to the new environment.
It would be impossible to define IT as a profession, the technology moves too fast to set base rules.
The article is a bit simplistic in it's view of comparing bridges collapsing to failed IT projects.
Like all views of Civil Engineering, the bridge just shows up, poof, whereas the reality is there's years of problems and redesigns and tender adjustments to get that bridge up and there's no turning back, it has to completed. Frthermore bridge failure is not an option, peoples lives are at stake and engineers can end up being liable for manslaughter in such a case (including during construction).IT has no such dire consequences.
I have to question the stats saying more IT projects fail than in engineering, this fails to mention construction projects that are designed and in some cases even go to tender but never come to fruition. That would be a failed project then, IT records these failures more accurately therefore the higher figures.
The case for IT staying as it is, lawyers are just going to hold it back and get in the way. Imagine the costs of IT when you bring lawyers and Insurance into the ring.
Let's just leave it at survival of the fittest, it works.
To say IT is struggling to be a profession is backward thinking. It's the authors view of IT, no one elses for the fact that he can not stick IT into a nice little box and label it along the lines of university or technikon courses that he can sell to the public.
The article is a bit simplistic in it's view of comparing bridges collapsing to failed IT projects.
Like all views of Civil Engineering, the bridge just shows up, poof, whereas the reality is there's years of problems and redesigns and tender adjustments to get that bridge up and there's no turning back, it has to completed. Frthermore bridge failure is not an option, peoples lives are at stake and engineers can end up being liable for manslaughter in such a case (including during construction).IT has no such dire consequences.
I have to question the stats saying more IT projects fail than in engineering, this fails to mention construction projects that are designed and in some cases even go to tender but never come to fruition. That would be a failed project then, IT records these failures more accurately therefore the higher figures.
The case for IT staying as it is, lawyers are just going to hold it back and get in the way. Imagine the costs of IT when you bring lawyers and Insurance into the ring.
Let's just leave it at survival of the fittest, it works.
To say IT is struggling to be a profession is backward thinking. It's the authors view of IT, no one elses for the fact that he can not stick IT into a nice little box and label it along the lines of university or technikon courses that he can sell to the public.
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davemc
Executive Member
You have to add Transparency to the job description.
Nobody realises how non-transparent their "professional who can get the job done" is until it's too late.
Empower the programmers to point out where transparency is failing, and you have a much more robust system.
Great Thread
Some good thinking in this thread. I'd just like to add that Weak Penalties also contribute to a culture of sloppy programming. Horrible code is simply accepted or tweaked, as it works "well enough" for buisinees, and it becomes some poor bastard 2 coder-generations down the road's living nightmare.
Some good thinking in this thread. I'd just like to add that Weak Penalties also contribute to a culture of sloppy programming. Horrible code is simply accepted or tweaked, as it works "well enough" for buisinees, and it becomes some poor bastard 2 coder-generations down the road's living nightmare.