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Why Programming Rituals Work
narramissic writes "Programmers may not think that their rituals are unusual, but if you swear that your code is less buggy if you recite it aloud or you prepare for coding by listening to certain music, don't be surprised if you get a couple sideways glances. In a recent ITworld article, Issac Kelly, Lead Developer at Servee.com, explains his routine and why it works: 'To me, programming is really the 'last mile' to getting something done. When I do the planning and specifications, I go on lots of walks, take lots of time with my wife, and really do as little work in front of the computer as possible. The more I plan (in my head, on paper, on a whiteboard) the less I program; and all of my rituals are to that end.' His ritual goes like this: 'Before sitting down to a coding session, he gets a big glass of water, takes everything off of his desk, and closes out all programs and e-mail, keeping open only his code editor. The office door is shut, and some sort of music is playing ('typically an instrumental only, like my 'Explosions in the Sky' pandora station,' says Kelly).'"
Here's a couple of long out-of-fashion words; contemplation and reflection.
There is no "process" -- not change requests, not planning documents, not maintenance windows, not design documents, and for damn sure no flavor-of-the-month buzzword -- that can replace someone with a brain thinking the problem through.
The problem with this is that it exposes the MBAs for the empty suits they are. Our "business team" -- salesmen with glorified titles -- sit through every meeting bloviating while the engineers get it done. The PMP certs are the worst about it. Me and a customer engineer will put our heads together about something, and decide on a course of action. The PMPs will jump all over it and send out emails about "deliverable actions items."
One of the other engineers will mention something, and we'll realize we should take a different approach. While we're getting real work done, the PMPs will barge in demanding to know if that action items has been deliverabled yet, and if not we need to reprioritize our skill sets.
I used to try to explain it to them. We were going to do that, but then we found out this, so were doing something different. I kept getting haughty responses about how they didn't need to know the little tech stuff, they were just managing the project.
One of them went on at huge length about how you didn't have to be a doctor to be a chief of staff at a hospital.
At that point I just began to feel sorry for him. Can you imagine living your life hoping and praying that no one will ever realize that you don't have the first clue about what you're talking about?
He put his boots up on the table and made a face. "The sig," he smirked. "You can waste your life in search of the sig."
My only ritual is that if I find a bug or a problem that I can't resolve in less than 5 minutes I take a few hours off. After a while I get back to it and am usually able to resolve it without much trouble.
I would like to know how complex of a system you are designing with this methodology. No flow planning? No predefined input/output? No figuring out how your design will efficiently fulfill software requirements? Planning isn't all about rituals, though it's well known that doing something to focus your thoughts helps get the juices flowing. Planning is about figuring out how to not waste your time or money, and being able to effectively divide out work if deadlines are pressing in.
I see the glass as full with a FoS of 2.
I'm developing a course for aspiring computer programmers. I've been at it on and off for the past year. The reading list is done, the course outline and coverage isn't entirely done but is shaping up. This sounds like material that should be covered. Does anyone have a good writeup or recommended book for inclusion in the course? The Programmers Stone guys sort of cover this material.
You can see the course here:
From Beginner to Master A Computer Programmer's Reading Course So, you want to be a computer programmer?
It isn't true unless it makes you laugh, but you don't understand it until it makes you weep.
I'm serious. I find that I solve many of my hardest problems in the shower. Now that I telecommute 100% of the time I'll often just take one, say in the middle of the afternoon, to jump start the solution!
Obviously the shower has nothing to do with the situation, it is the "stepping back" that is important, so find something that works for you, and do it.
I prefer to work with intuitive models. My "ritual" is as follows:
1. Ponder the problem. Not too hard. Just get a feel for how to solve it.
2. Prototype a solution in some readable language (python?).
3a. If the prototype is horribly broken, scrap it and go back to step 2.
3b. Otherwise, create final solution from lessons learned from prototyping.
A lot of people draw diagrams and flow charts and stuff. But that is stupid and too abstracted from the computer to be all that useful. By making a prototype, you're effectively making an interactive diagram/flowchart. It takes about the same time, and any problems will be immediately obvious.
GAAH! MY PRINTER IS ON FIRE!!! PUT IT OUT! PUT IT OUT!