Working with Programmers Blog

Want better results from your programmer? Communicate your goals.

Avonelle Lovhaug — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 09:11:56 GMT

The best developers are consultative. They can work with you to help you achieve the best results for your business....

How much of a difference does hiring the RIGHT person make?

Avonelle Lovhaug — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 08:58:55 GMT

Not sure it's worth the added time and effort to make sure you are hiring the right programmer? Here's an ...

Random changes <> debugging

Avonelle Lovhaug — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 07:36:19 GMT

One of the more colorful characters I've worked with over the years was a woman I'll call Ashly. Ashly was ...

Five reasons why my customers are awesome

Avonelle Lovhaug — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 09:22:49 GMT

I know, I know. Sounds like I'm just trying to suck up, doesn't it?

Well, just a tiny bit.

But ...

What kind of emergency support do you need?

Avonelle Lovhaug — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 07:38:16 GMT

When your software breaks, how quickly do you expect the programmer to respond to your request for assistance?

Okay, that’s ...

Your design will never be “perfect”

Avonelle Lovhaug — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:39:17 GMT

I have unhappy news for you. Your design will never be perfect.

This can be very frustrating to some people. ...

Project success tip: Provide a single point of contact

Avonelle Lovhaug — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 08:38:17 GMT

Whenever I’ve heard people talk about the importance of a single point of contact for communication between the developer and ...

The cynicism of hourly fees for programming

Avonelle Lovhaug — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:06:43 GMT

Most programmers who have been around a few years can tell you horror stories about a software project they worked ...

How to learn about secret software bugs

Avonelle Lovhaug — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 10:51:36 GMT

One of the more frustrating aspects of being a programmer is that sometimes users encounter problems you never hear about. ...

Ask the Programmer: Why can’t I “own” my code?

Avonelle Lovhaug — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 08:33:17 GMT

Ask the programmer is a feature designed to answer questions from non-geeks about hiring and working with programmers. If ...

When more is less (or makes you look stupid)

Avonelle Lovhaug — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:20:16 GMT

My new thermostat has a myriad of features, including a sensor that will tell me the outside temperature. The thermostat ...

Top 5 tasks that get missed in software estimates

Avonelle Lovhaug — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:56:33 GMT

Software estimates can be tricky. One challenge is remembering what to include. When people put together their estimates, they usually ...

Duct Tape Programmers and their scary look-a-likes

Avonelle Lovhaug — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:19:44 GMT

Unless you are a programmer, you probably don’t read Joel on Software since, well, he writes about software development. It ...

Who pays for mistakes?

Avonelle Lovhaug — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:04:58 GMT

One reason why I am an advocate for fixed-fee pricing over hourly pricing is that I dislike the notion that ...

What programmers can learn from 5 year olds about software design

Avonelle Lovhaug — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:21:37 GMT

I recently attended my nephew’s 5th birthday party. Observing him I realized that he and his guests could teach programmers ...