Sucking the Fun Out of Software Development

Last week I found myself being subjected to one of the worst fates known to the North American cubicle dweller... the dreaded team building meeting. Acckkkk!!!

But even worse was that the typical mind-numbing "personality profiling exercise" was replaced with the excruciating "enterprise architecture presentation".

Where do these guys come from anyway? Who uses words like "end user vision", "long range target architecture", "governance board" and garbage like that?

Quite frankly I don't have the patience for it. If you get a thrill trying to out-merriam-webster a bunch of other like minded architecture zombies then all the power to you, but don't come to my precious team-building meeting and make things worse by spouting that meaningless drivel at me.

I tried to pay attention in order to show some respect for my fellow man, but before I knew it I felt like Charlie Brown listening to his teacher, mwah-mwah-mwah...

So I first started sketching to try and relieve the tedium but soon found myself writing down a bunch of words to describe the corporate architecture team and this crap presentation. Here's what I wrote:

• bureaucratic
• roadblocks
• undemocratic (appointed)
• not a meritocracy
• unrealistic
• double talk
• expensive

Does that list remind you of anything else? Well I dunno about you but my mind goes straight to several branches of the government. Uh oh...

Anyway, my point goes back to the stuff that DHH talks about all the time:

1. Beauty leads to happiness
2. Happiness leads to productivty
3. (therefore) Beauty leads to productivity

Maybe, just maybe, if these IT departments would just stop sucking the fun out of software development, then maybe, just maybe, we could get back to actually delivering some real value to our clients. I'm not saying that we should completely ignore architecture or good design, but if you've somehow let your focus shift from delivering value to your customers to creating Powerpoint presentations full of words that nobody understands just in order to try and sound important then please find someone who cares and get out of my face so that I can get back to what really matters!