Re: Programmers -> Engineers; Engineers -> Programmers

["Kevin J. Weise" <kweise@c3i-ccmail.sed.redstone.army.mil>]

jkrell@nswc.navy.mil (James Krell) wrote:
>Let's say an organization is developing software for a radar system...
>Is it better to take engineers/scientists who understand the system
>and teach them how to program?  Or is it better to take programmers
>and teach them about the radar system?
>
>Another example.. what if an organization is developing a command
>and control system? Is it better to take individuals who know the
>tactical and technical  aspects of the command and control system 
>and teach them how to program or is it better to take programmers 
>and teach them about the command and control system?
>
Presuming this is an honest, albeit simplistic, query (as opposed to a 
troll)...

I don't have any realistic, hard statistics, but...

It has been my experience that most companies will take engineers and 
make them do programming.  Some like it, some don't.  I've worked for a 
few companies like this and hated having to clean up the software 
messes left by the engineers (many of whom get *very* uptight that 
anyone would question their bizarre architectures and coding 
practices).  Many engineers (primarily those who give a damn), after 
living on a serious software project, pick up good software development 
practices from good software developers(if they are around) and good 
literature (if they are motivated to look for it).  Conversely, many 
good software developers can pick up the needed background in an 
engineering field (if they give a damn, if they have an associate who 
knows the field, if they are motivated,...).  *BUT*, with management 
usually coming from the engineering ranks, a software developer who 
does a poor engineering job is almost always blamed/punished/rejected 
whereas an engineer who does a poor software job is rarely noticed.  
(Probably because those same managers can't determine if the software 
job was good or not.) (I guess if this was a troll, I fell right in.)

Anyhow, IMHO, you need both.  If you can get people with good, solid 
backgrounds in both the desired engineering field and in software 
engineering, that's great.  If you can't, but can settle for being a 
CMM Level 1 organization, go for the engineers.  But, then again, if 
you need multiple engineers, you really should consider the software 
part an engineering field as well, and get some software *engineers* 
(i.e., don't settle for merely code-slingers).

---------------------------------------------------------------
Kevin J. Weise               email:  kweise@sed.redstone.army.mil
COLSA Corp.                  voice:  (205) 842-9083
Huntsville, AL

..standard disclaimers apply