Software development is hard work

[projecttracker]

Software development is a practice only tangentially related to programming. It is true, you cannot do the one without the other; but the things that make a good programmer have little to no bearing on what makes a good software developer. I might draw an analogy: fluency in a language is probably necessary if you are to write great literature in

Comments

[ukelele]

Planning out the day in the morning? Huh. When I was on top of things at work, I always used the last 15 minutes of the previous day to figure out what to do tomorrow. Of course, my work day started before 8 so I wasn't likely to *get* there enough earlier to plan same-day ;). But I felt it also helped me having the context of the previous day fresh in my mind, so I could readily think of any loose ends.

[projecttracker]

Either way. Doing it in the morning first thing (a) lets you package each day as its own unique object lesson and (b) gives you a reason to say "our day starts at 9 sharp, none of this getting-in-sometime-after-10 stuff", which programmers somehow believe they're entitled to.

Why is that anyway?

[wrenb]

External accountability. I have to be in my office at 9 sharp because if I'm not there the office doesn't open and contractors/tenants get annoyed that they aren't being served. Similarly ukelele has to be there by the time her first class starts because otherwise the kids will not be taught. Programmers (IME) are taught that the important thing is that the work gets done, not what hours the work happens between.

They're also taught that their value is intrinsic, it's inside their skull. ukelele and I can be replaced, to some small degree, by a warm body present during the appointed time. The work won't be done to our satisfaction by the substitute, but the sub will prevent the immediate negative consequences of our absence. I'd guess that your programmers feel that there are not negative consequences to coming to work later in the morning than you'd like.

[projecttracker]

Yes, both of these are true. Which is sad because they're not actually true things to teach.

And it's not my programmers - it's nearly all the programmers I've ever worked with. Very few exceptions.