The Number One Trait of a Great Developer
This post just listed traits very prominent in hackers - deep fascination for technology, perfectionism, need for deep focus and few distractions, concern for efficiency - and wrapped this package under the label of "lack of judgment".The problem I have with such generalization is that these scenarios are always a bit caricatural and are usually presented in a way that nicely fit the argument.The experimental developer is required to build simple stuff, but goes to extremes just because he wants to toy with new technology, while the great one is praised for her conservative approach. It also helps that she asks exactly the right questions and receives the right answers.“How many devices do we expect to have?”
“Well, we hope to sell 500 in 12 months.”
“How often will they need to report in?”
“Roughly once an hour.”
“How reliable is the network?”
“It’ll use WiFi, so fairly reliable.”In reality, sometimes you ask these questions, you get very accurate answers and based on that, you pick some technology that you believe will spot on address the problem. You might even make the judgment call that you have enough wiggle room to include one or two new concepts you've been curious about, that are yet still very relevant to the task at hand.Then something happens mid-project and it turns out that what was originally requested wasn't actually what was needed. How many times has that happened?Two possible conclusions in these situations, for either developers:- the "rockstar" either looks like a god, for having foreseen some problems, or he'll be the guy who brought a tank to a knife fight.- whereas the "great developer" will just look incompetent, or she'll just be, well, great.Judgment is a nice trait for a good developer, but it is subjective. There are some hits and some misses.What I believe makes a _great_ developer is the fact that they might work to push their own boundaries, which is the reason you're interested in them in the first place, but most importantly, when they do, they stand by their work.I can't embrace a definition of a great developer, where the primary quality is to avoid causing trouble for the company, the project, the team or their boss. That has almost nothing to do with the discipline. You're describing a "great employee" or a "great team player".The exact description of a great developer given in this article might absolutely not work in other environments, where developers are required to push the envelope and think outside the box. In such context, your great developer might be thought of as mediocre at best.