Do you think performance at work really count these days??

[MrBeans]

I think not at all...
Today's customer is very dynamic and changing fast according to market or customer demand. Not all bothered about the performance one applies at work but rather the looks at the overall work done, Even if it is done the stupid way!

I have been working since almost 3 years now but see the same attitude of customer no matter how big the customer is or how small...This some times really puts my moral down...and brings a feeling as if I am in the wrong end/wrong place

Would be happy to see your comments.

[Krishnaa]

Hey Ashwin, cheer up man, this is exactly what happens everywhere, same with me. I have learned one thing, IT industry have 90% of dirty work for us, and that is only why they pay good money.

There are ways though, you need to wait for right time to come.

[mrRee]

if it's done in a stupid way, I doubt it'll came out as a good result/outcome...let say in programming...the stupid way mostly end up with a problematic program/application...

or maybe I don't understand your post...so spare me, MrBeans if I do misundertand you post...

[NoHero]

if it's done in a stupid way, I doubt it'll came out as a good result/outcome...let say in programming...the stupid way mostly end up with a problematic program/application...

Stupid design may also lead to a functional program. I don't want to know how many closed source software has been done the stupid way.

Well, I can only rate the school project our class does. And well, the design that's behind most of the application my class mates write is horrible. Oh well, there is no design. Just a bunch of 70kb FormX.cs files. Their performance is most of the time horrible, but they work. And "our" customers are satisfied.

[Kheun]

IMHO, it is very likely that the customers didn't state whether they need performance during the requirement phase. Probably, their working environment doesn't a program that scales and performs well. This is especially so for customer who has just started to replace manual work with running program. Which is also why they haven't work out a complete work process that fully utiliize the program so that they need performance. Since they only need a working code, it is quite likely that they don't worry about it and therefore they don't want to pay for it.

[mrRee]

Stupid design may also lead to a functional program. I don't want to know how many closed source software has been done the stupid way.

Well, I can only rate the school project our class does. And well, the design that's behind most of the application my class mates write is horrible. Oh well, there is no design. Just a bunch of 70kb FormX.cs files. Their performance is most of the time horrible, but they work. And "our" customers are satisfied.

ah! that....for me, software with performance issue is also a problematic software...at least, that's my experience...my customer demand the performance too as they expect good result from each pennies they spent...well, a few of them just don't care but most of them are really care about performance issue...so stupid way is not an option...hmmm....maybe I'm a bit unlucky to encounter those fussy customers...

I though, this thread is about, how the programmer perform at work misght effect the customer satisfaction...so sorry about this huge misunderstanding, MrBean....spare me this time please...

[MrBeans]

Oh no mrRee It is good to see you serious at least once

[JPicasso_00]

Why would a customer care how a piece of software is written?

If they cared, they would be software developers, or they would at least develop internally. Pretty and functional SHOULD be the two most paramount indicators of how "good" software is.

Remember the "best" way to write software is to keep the customer happy,
not be able to brag to your fellow coders how you managed to write an alogrithm in 3 lines, rather than the "old" way of 10 different method calls. Especially if you spend a week shaving a tenth of a second off of a function that still takes 3 seconds to complete.


I DO think that design is important. If a customer comes to us and says, "I want software to do X and Y, but later on we'll need to do A and B, then it's up to software developers to account for A and B. But not for C and D and E and "phantom" uses that may or may not materialize.

[MrBeans]

Remember the "best" way to write software is to keep the customer happy, not be able to brag to your fellow coders how you managed to write an alogrithm in 3 lines, rather than the "old" way of 10 different method calls. Especially if you spend a week shaving a tenth of a second off of a function that still takes 3 seconds to complete.

hmm Good suggestion there will take that ...kind of scares me out though...

[Skoons]

Well its familiar problem for me
user nowdays (and may be always) needs only nice graphical interface with many colored buttons
and nothing else
if it be very stupid and usless software but with beatifull buttons user will apreciate it and he will deny very usefull and workable software but with console interface

[Andrea_Rossini]

In the megabites I developed in these 4 years I have applications like this:

- the user asked for "X only"
- the user asks to add "Y"
- the user asks to add "Z"
- the user asks to add "W"
- to give everithing a parvence of stability I was forced to create "J and K"


- the real solution was: "A and B and no more else"

I challenge you to find a more stupid user

[cjard]

Today's customer is very dynamic and changing fast according to market or customer demand. Not all bothered about the performance one applies at work but rather the looks at the overall work done, Even if it is done the stupid way!

I work for a company who have had me develop 9 systems over the past year and a half. in total I think 2 are in regular use, 3 were used briefly and the rest abandoned because the business moved on by the time they were developed. This business is like a child - by the time you've bought him the Action Man GI Joe he has been coveting off TV, he wants Rollerblades instead..

[John E]

In my view this is all part of a much wider problem affecting the way that businesses are run in the western world. In the UK we’ve had a growing problem for at least 2 decades where the vast majority of our businesses are being run by accountants rather than entrepreneurs as was previously traditional. God knows how these idiots managed to persuade everyone that only accountants can run businesses because, to a man, they are universally crap at the job.

One big problem with accountants is that they seem to have an inbuilt mistrust of talented individuals. They simply can't connect with talented people whom they seem to regard as mavericks Once the accountants move in you can bet your life that the first thing they’ll do is get rid of all the highly paid talent. They seem to prefer having their businesses run my ‘yes men’ – but even then, it isn’t long before they start getting rid of the expensive yes men and leave themselves with the cheaper yes men. This saves the business a lot of money. Therefore, on paper at least, the accountants can make it look as though they’re doing a really good job. In the early stages, profits usually rise significantly, year on year. Of course, the problem with a business full of yes men is that they rarely know what they’re talking about. They have little understanding of the needs of customers. Nor do they know how to interface with suppliers - for example, when it comes to specifying products and services that the company needs. This is why you keep getting half-baked specifications that are constantly being changed.

In Britain we have a saying about accountants... accountants are people who know the price of everything and the value of nothing. It might be humorous but it’s scarily true....

[Andrea_Rossini]

accountants are people who know the price of everything and the value of nothing. It might be humorous but it’s scarily true....

From today I'll start to like english humor.

[exterminator]

Why would a customer care how a piece of software is written?

It depends on who the "customer" is!