November 26, 2016 at 1:29 pm
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Hire the Right People
November 28, 2016 at 2:52 am
Going somewhat beyond the core competencies of our staff is pretty much standard modus operandi. Most of us enjoy pushing that bit beyond what we already know, to an extent. It's overstretching that's the problem. Doing something a little bit more tricky ETL wise is not likely to be a significant problem. Moving from relational technology and a Microsoft stack to a MEAN Stack / NoSQL database, however, as a for instance, will likely cause significant pain.
BTW from the article - I'd love to hear what my boss said if I suggested 6 - 12 months to look at a database and cleanse it before doing anything with it! I suppose it's a possible circumstance though...
November 28, 2016 at 6:25 am
I don't mind learning new things that increase my value and add to my core competency. However, where I've had issue in the past is where the organization needs an expert level of skill on something and then magically anoints me for that task.
All too often people are put in a position to fail because someone above them made a decision about a technology or project without considering the support implications or the required skill sets. I've never seen it happen where anyone says "Well, Steve tried to help us out on this, but he's not an X developer and we really should have considered that before trying to implement X. We need to either re-evaluate using X or get some new staff in." It's always "Steve really dropped the ball on this."
November 28, 2016 at 7:23 am
The trick is knowing when your staff can pick up something new, and when you need to hire consultants. Our organization excels at that. Of course our technical staff is pretty much the best group of guys I have ever worked with, so it makes it easy to decide.
We rarely get training, and even more rarely do we need to bring in consultants. The only times we do tend to be when there is some major item that simply requires a lot of bodies, and typically our team ends up knowing more than they do.
Personally I feel you hire smart, hard working, competent people, regardless of what the article says about not hiring scientists. Maybe they need to have a better idea of what a scientist is.
Dave
November 28, 2016 at 8:32 am
We hire consultants for short-term system configuration issues. When it comes to long-term efforts we often hire for current tasks and let our current staff learn new things. It seems difficult to find anyone qualified already to do those new things right out of the gate.
November 28, 2016 at 8:37 am
djackson 22568 (11/28/2016)
The trick is knowing when your staff can pick up something new, and when you need to hire consultants. Our organization excels at that. Of course our technical staff is pretty much the best group of guys I have ever worked with, so it makes it easy to decide.
That's what I tend to see. Invest in your people and have confidence in them to pick things up. If you have a time crunch or specific skills are needed, then get a short term consultant to do some work, and help your people learn things.
November 28, 2016 at 10:39 am
Anyone heard of the Dunning–Kruger effect? For an audio approximation watch the early stages of <insert country here> got talent.
In IT this manifests as people with a reasonable degree of competence in one field mistakingly believing they are the 2nd coming of the great prophet Zarquon in another field.
If you are expected to "just pick it up" then how will you know when you are making one of those insidious mistakes that leave you bruised and battered?
November 28, 2016 at 11:00 am
web designers building databases...
interns defining business requirements...
database administrators interfacing with clients...
executive management playing golf ...
everybody supervising themselves...
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
November 28, 2016 at 3:18 pm
What puzzles me is that developers aren't much better at data modelling. Surely you have to be pretty good to come up with a decent object model in the first place?
November 29, 2016 at 7:16 am
David.Poole (11/28/2016)
What puzzles me is that developers aren't much better at data modelling. Surely you have to be pretty good to come up with a decent object model in the first place?
Most developers I come across fail at object modelling. Then again I tend to think very harshly of my own kind.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
November 29, 2016 at 9:02 am
David.Poole (11/28/2016)
What puzzles me is that developers aren't much better at data modelling. Surely you have to be pretty good to come up with a decent object model in the first place?
I'm guessing they're probably looking at it in terms of a logical model rather than a relational model.
Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.
November 29, 2016 at 9:26 am
Gary Varga (11/29/2016)
David.Poole (11/28/2016)
What puzzles me is that developers aren't much better at data modelling. Surely you have to be pretty good to come up with a decent object model in the first place?Most developers I come across fail at object modelling. Then again I tend to think very harshly of my own kind.
Judging by http://thedailywtf.com/ you are not alone.
November 29, 2016 at 12:39 pm
David.Poole (11/28/2016)
What puzzles me is that developers aren't much better at data modelling. Surely you have to be pretty good to come up with a decent object model in the first place?
For some developers, Code-First is when you build the first iteration of an application before receiving requirements from the business.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
November 29, 2016 at 1:03 pm
Eric M Russell (11/29/2016)
David.Poole (11/28/2016)
What puzzles me is that developers aren't much better at data modelling. Surely you have to be pretty good to come up with a decent object model in the first place?For some developers, Code-First is when you build the first iteration of an application before receiving requirements from the business.
Or developers that use business requirements as the data model.
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