The author of this article only sees the product from his point of view. A programmer must see the product from all users point of view.
(for example)
The author fails to see that this product completely eliminates the ten people who run the finished paper up to the presses. Who can now be eliminated, saving the company money, and allowing the author to maintain his hefty salary. Or the three people who are responsible for formatting text to go on the website. Or the fact that Betsy in accounting can now directly authorize payments to freelance authors without having to send a payment request to the editors.
The author lacks the vision to see the entirety of the new product. It's sad that the developers did not spend more time usability testing, but in reality, when deadlines loom, usability testing in particular goes by the wayside.
Whether or not the product makes life easier for the author might not even have been one of the goals of the product. The CIO or CTO might have made the decision that he didn't care whether Joe Reporter had to spend 10 extra minutes using this product every day, because the product eliminated 10 jobs from the payroll.
Wow, do we know the same people? This sounds a lot like a PM I've worked with.
Good PMs do a lot of crap work, whether it is issue prioritization, dealing with clients, chasing down budget, stopping upper management from stealing developers for just 'this' report, or supervising user testing.
PMs do not need to be technical, that's what the (Lead Developer/System Architect/Development Manager) is for. Once you've seen a good PM, it's hard to work without one, because you usually have to do the work he/she was doing.
"The growing and dangerous intrusion of this new technology threatens the entire industry's economic vitality and future security" - Jack Valenti
Honorable Senator Cantwell,
On March 21, 2002, Honorable Senator Hollins presented a bill to the Senate called the CBDTPA (the Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act). This bill, if voted into law, would prohibit the sale of any kind of electronic device, unless the device had copy-protection standards built-in as set by the federal government.
The quote above is by Jack Valenti. What is he railing against: Napster?, illegal cd burning?, copying DVDs? No, VCRs, the quote is from 1982. I am asking you to exercise restraint, and instead of legislating copy protection, allow industry to define its standards for itself. America is a capitalist society, and eventually industry will find a solution to this problem.
As you are well aware, Washington is a 'technology' heavy state, and in the midst of a recession. Enacting this legislation will only exacerbate this, as companies move jobs out of the country so that they can produce devices that people will buy. Intel, one of Washington's major technical firms, stands firmly against this legislation.
I do not look forward to a future where I must lease a book for three days, where it is illegal for me to use my VCR, or to convert my home movies into digital format. I realize that this legislation is a far cry from any of these suggested realities, however it is a slippery slope. Legislation can have unintended consequences, the DMCA being used to suppress religious criticism for example.
I will be closely watching the results of this bill. I ask that you please consider my arguments, and vote in a manner consistent with your constituency.
Slashdot Mirror
The author of this article only sees the product from his point of view. A programmer must see the product from all users point of view. (for example) The author fails to see that this product completely eliminates the ten people who run the finished paper up to the presses. Who can now be eliminated, saving the company money, and allowing the author to maintain his hefty salary. Or the three people who are responsible for formatting text to go on the website. Or the fact that Betsy in accounting can now directly authorize payments to freelance authors without having to send a payment request to the editors. The author lacks the vision to see the entirety of the new product. It's sad that the developers did not spend more time usability testing, but in reality, when deadlines loom, usability testing in particular goes by the wayside. Whether or not the product makes life easier for the author might not even have been one of the goals of the product. The CIO or CTO might have made the decision that he didn't care whether Joe Reporter had to spend 10 extra minutes using this product every day, because the product eliminated 10 jobs from the payroll.
Wow, do we know the same people? This sounds a lot like a PM I've worked with.
Good PMs do a lot of crap work, whether it is issue prioritization, dealing with clients, chasing down budget, stopping upper management from stealing developers for just 'this' report, or supervising user testing.
PMs do not need to be technical, that's what the (Lead Developer/System Architect/Development Manager) is for. Once you've seen a good PM, it's hard to work without one, because you usually have to do the work he/she was doing.
"The growing and dangerous intrusion of this new technology threatens the entire industry's economic vitality and future security" - Jack Valenti
Honorable Senator Cantwell,
On March 21, 2002, Honorable Senator Hollins presented a bill to the Senate called the CBDTPA (the Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act). This bill, if voted into law, would prohibit the sale of any kind of electronic device, unless the device had copy-protection standards built-in as set by the federal government.
The quote above is by Jack Valenti. What is he railing against: Napster?, illegal cd burning?, copying DVDs? No, VCRs, the quote is from 1982. I am asking you to exercise restraint, and instead of legislating copy protection, allow industry to define its standards for itself. America is a capitalist society, and eventually industry will find a solution to this problem.
As you are well aware, Washington is a 'technology' heavy state, and in the midst of a recession. Enacting this legislation will only exacerbate this, as companies move jobs out of the country so that they can produce devices that people will buy. Intel, one of Washington's major technical firms, stands firmly against this legislation.
I do not look forward to a future where I must lease a book for three days, where it is illegal for me to use my VCR, or to convert my home movies into digital format. I realize that this legislation is a far cry from any of these suggested realities, however it is a slippery slope. Legislation can have unintended consequences, the DMCA being used to suppress religious criticism for example.
I will be closely watching the results of this bill. I ask that you please consider my arguments, and vote in a manner consistent with your constituency.
Sincerely,
xxxxxxxxxxxx