Tips for Working with Programmers

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

  By Avonelle Lovhaug

  Publication Date: 12/8/2009 8:33:17 AM

  Ask the programmer is a feature designed to answer questions from non-geeks about hiring and working with programmers. If you have a question, please email me at avonelle@lovhaug.com.

  Question: Why doesn’t your custom software contract grant my company ownership rights for the code. I’m paying for the software, shouldn’t I be the owner?

  Answer: To start out, we need to have a common understanding of what is included in custom software. Most custom software is made up of several different things:

  • Controls, components, or libraries written by third parties and purchased by the developer
  • Controls, components, or libraries ...

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• Ask the Programmer: Why can’t I change my mind?

  By Avonelle Lovhaug

  Publication Date: 3/6/2009 11:43:19 AM

  Ask the programmer is feature designed to answer questions from non-geeks about hiring and working with programmers. If you have a question, please email me at avonelle@lovhaug.com.

  Question: We hired a contract programmer to build a new application for our organization. Everything started out well, but now the project is late and shows no signs of getting done. He says it is because we changed our mind on some of the requirements. But how could we know it wasn’t what we wanted until we saw something? And several of these changes weren’t that big a deal. 

  Answer: This ...

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• Ask the Programmer: The Extravagant Programmer

  By Avonelle Lovhaug

  Publication Date: 2/6/2009 5:54:47 PM

  Ask the programmer is feature designed to answer questions from non-geeks about hiring and working with programmers. If you have a question, please email me at avonelle@lovhaug.com.

  Question: I recently hired a programmer to build custom applications and reports. He is asking me to spend lots of money on a new computer and software. My company isn’t giant – I don’t have lots of spare dollars to spend. But I am willing to fork out some dough if it will help him work faster. How can I tell if these requests are legitimate or a spending spree?

  Answer:......

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