Microsoft Azure Achieves Certifications
I get tweets from Kevin Kline frequently…and this one he re-tweeted from Buck Woody about the Microsoft Azure platform I felt worthy of passing on. Microsoft has been working to achieve compliance in their Azure systems with many different standards. In this announcement Microsoft is now offering Azure users a Business Associates Agreement regarding their compliance and certification for meeting HIPAA requirements. This is a truly noteworthy accomplishment.
What Sets You Apart? reader Feedback
Well friends, I think this is probably a timely topic. In response to my editorial yesterday I received a large number of replies. Many have written with similar experiences or frustrations with the tension to become a better developer while producing much needed code.
Personally, I’ve been writing software since 1983. However, I think I have learned more in the last 7 years than I did in the first 24. That is because writing good software is more than syntax and frameworks. For the first two decades I focused on languages and certifications. With the exception of SQL, nothing I used years ago even exists today.
Sadly, I have worked with individuals who have been programming for decades less than me, and are, in my opinion, much farther advanced than I am because they focused on transferable concepts over languages and frameworks.
Starting in 2006 I changed my focus to learning software Patterns, Principles and Processes, and have experienced a great degree in satisfaction by learning skills that never become obsolete. I was lucky enough to have worked with individuals who had made this leap and demonstrated the efficacy.
Here are a few of the comments from you…
Mary Writes:
Very interesting article, "What Sets You Apart"! Having worked around the IT field for 20 years, I have seen both types. No right or wrong personality types, but it is good to point out as some people might need a gentle nudge to move forward.
- The first person is either more advanced or more motivated (probably both)
- The second person can be an asset because sometimes we need heads-down coders to reach deadlines. Being very comfortable in that role brings confidence to the person doing the job. And, in this day and age, we have not "grown" our programmers from a training standpoint, so part of the fault is ours. I realize it is costly to bring on employees, but at the very least, the second person "learns quickly" by admission.
- I agree that trick questions are not the best way; but that leaves us to motivating ourselves to come up with viable questions to test the logic we want to see exhibited. To that end, a review of SOLID principles in future newsletters would be advantageous to us all!!!
Jolene Writes:
You really got to me on this one. I have a very strong foundation as to the Systems Development Process but do not have a good grip on today’s technologies. Right now I am more language specific. I have begun looking a design patterns, but have a long way to go. You have certainly giving me a lot to think about, It is going to be a busy year!
Collin Writes:
I have never responded to a question in your newsletters, but this one caught my eye. I find myself paranoid about falling into the same trap as your second candidate and have tried to keep my skills at a level where that doesn’t happen. As a person who was primarily self taught in technology (until recently when I got my Masters finally!) its always been a fear of mine that I would only be a ‘code monkey’ not capable of anything but regurgitation of code.
To that end, I have tried to learn multiple languages that essentially do the same thing; ASP and PHP, javascript and vbscript, just so I could learn what they did irrespective of syntax. I also come from the business side originally so my focus tends to still be on delivering results that help the bottom line, but on a larger scale, I try to think about how things fit together with the technology we already use, how we can integrate new technology and can we do something better than we are today.
I would like to think my efforts have not been without results. Its hard to tell when you are trying to evaluate yourself. As for your questions, one thing that might be interesting in the case of your second candidate would be to have them write a small program in pseudo code. This way you get to see their logic process, not their syntax memorization. Just a thought.
If you would like to contribute thoughts to this conversation send your comments to btaylor@sswug.org.
Cheers,
Ben
$$SWYNK$$
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