Voice of the DBA

Category: Editorial

  • Why Can’t We Code?

    Maybe we need a new test for developers?

    I think that most of the developers or data professionals out there have been through a variety of types of interviews in their careers. You might have had technical interviews that asked you to write code, or maybe you’ve been quizzed on SQL Server trivia or asked to explain methods and properties. Maybe you’ve had interviews with managers that had you define a few database terms. Perhaps you’ve just had someone ask you the ten co

    mmon interview questions without requiring you to demonstrate any technical knowledge.

    No matter what you’ve experienced, I think that many people would agree that the hiring process needs work. It does a poor job of actually pre

    dicting if the new employee can produce quality code or manage servers. Why is that?

    Many companies have really tried to solve this. From the famous “How would you move Mt. Fuji?” questions at Microsoft to the common CS type questions at Google. Joel Spolsky has his own guerilla guide, which I assume has worked well for him, though on a much smaller scale. I think, however, that for the most part no one has come up with a good way to solve this issue.

    A friend sent me this piece recently: Why the New Guy Can’t Code. It’s a little heavy handed, but there was one quote in there that I thought made sense: “don’t interview anyone who hasn’t accomplished anything. Ever.” It’s so easy to set up your own website, design a database on your personal machine, even put an app out for sale, that there’s no excuse not to make some effort to accomplish something. Craig Farrall

    talked about building something in Looking for Work in SQL Server, as did Brandie Tarvin in Changing Career Gears. It’s also one of the things I talk about at the Modern Resume: show people what you’ve done.

    I don’t know that we’ll ever find a fool proof way to hire great employees, but hiring people that have proven themselves in the past, and can point to something they’ve done, is good start.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

  • Economics

    Not a good day for this Cowboys fan.

    Today we have an editorial from Mar 22, 2006 as Steve is on vacation.

    Terrell Owens signs with the Cowboys and I’m not thrilled. As a longtime fan of Dallas, I’d have preferred that they get someone else, despite his talent. Too much baggage. Alfonso Soriano refuses to play outfield for the Nationals this week, disobeying his manager who asked him to go out there during a game. Lots of people are upset with this “spoiled” athlete who makes $10 million a year and won’t listen to his boss.

    There’s way more stories of this type of behavior than there are positive ones. But how do these individuals get away with this behavior and still command such high salaries?

    It’s called economics. There are many people, often sports or entertainment stars, that have a supply of something: talent. And with the demand out there to see them, the price goes up. It’s a simple graph from basic Economics 101, like the one shown below. I learned about this early in my college career, as the supply goes down, as in one or two superstar wide receivers in football, the price goes up. In this case to $10 million for Mr. Owens this year. If you can have that kind of demand for your services, than you can easily get more money. And it’s not limited to sports.

    Supply and demand often determines what we pay.

    I have a friend that manages a development team. This manager requires the team to read software development materials from the team library, which contains books, magazines, etc. that pertain to their business. Often there are magazines passed around and the developers are asked to read for an hour a week and note a sentence or two that shows they read something. My friend even gives them the hour during work hours as a way to encourage personal development and growth of the developers.

    Recently one developer said that they didn’t want to read one week. Since it was a busy week, the team working overtime, my friend didn’t complain too much. However the developer went further in saying they didn’t think they should have to read and that if they did, they should be able to pick anything, not just from the library. No suggestions or, hey, could you get a copy of Professional SQL Server 2005 Integration Services, nothing other than a complaint.

    My friend was a little put off by this. After all, my friend is trying to help the team grow, looking to ensure they do not become stagnant and wanting to foster a professional environment. And giving away work time to do it, not requiring the developers to find time at night or on the weekends.

    I’ve seen this behavior more and more over the last 7 or 8 years than the 7 or 8 prior to that that I’ve been in this business. As the demand for IT services has gone up, many people have gotten inflated salaries and the ego to go with them. Too many IT workers think they’re above some work or don’t think they need to improve or companies should place additional demands on them. This goes from requiring certifications or training to not being willing to help out in lesser skilled areas.

    Maybe I’m getting old. Maybe I’m from a different time, but I think that requiring you to keep learning isn’t a problem in IT. After all, technology changes rapidly and it benefits you. And requiring it on company time shouldn’t be an issue. Asking me to help out with a ticket queue and assigning ACL permissions to individuals won’t generate a complaint from me.

    Heck, it’s much easier than doing SQL work and the pay’s the same.

  • Ethics

    // // //

    It seems ethics are in short supply some days

    Today we have an editorial reprinted from April 3, 2006 as Steve is on vacation.

    We have heard lots of stories about hackers using social engineering or even paying employees to get information. It is not really amazing anymore and sadly, we kind of expect people to compromise their ethics when dollars are involved.

    What is even sadder is our leaders, the management of companies we work for, who are supposed to set an example for work, build pride in the company, and help it to grow, are expected to throw ethics out the window on a regular basis. This story about Morgan Stanley executives pressuring IT to buy certain products in order to get those vendors to bring their banking business is nothing new. In fact most of the IT people I’ve worked with are surprised when it isn’t some political decision such as this that decides which products they will use.

    I know that people often scratch each other’s backs. After all, each of us on a small scale usually wants to work with someone we know, trade favors, and show some loyalty to each other.

    But when you put out a bid, it gets frustrating for the people that work hard to find out what they think is best for the company, or the best solution for a problem and have that circumvented because someone got to go play golf or had tickets to a sporting event given to them.

    Or worse, the promise of a job or other financial compensation for steering business rather than awarding it. There are penalties for accepting gifts of this sort, and the article has some advice on avoiding issues if you are worried.

    I don’t pretend to have a solution. Nor do I think I would be immune to this. Andy, Brian, and I have spent 5 years trying to build a community we’re proud of, often putting the profit second or third on the list to having a place we are proud of running.

    I just wish it could be different.

  • A Live Node

    We don't seem to have this kind of focus in the modern world.

    Today we have an editorial reprinted from March 29, 2006 as Steve is on vacation.

    Do you want to be a node on the network of life? Constantly alive and in touch? Maybe you suffer from continuous partial attention. The article is kind of funny actually. The author doing the interview while driving around, giving her own partial attention to the interview. At least that’s what I hope and it’s not partial attention to the road. Or at least, less partial attention.

    I think this is a huge problem in today’s world, especially as we are more connected with technology. It used to be that you could have some time to yourself on your commute or any other time in transit. You could get a few minutes to walk around the office, stop by a Starbucks for a latte, something to unwind. Your kids competed for your attention with others that they could see you talking with. You could enjoy a movie in peace. Even answering machines, as much as they were first decried by many people, gave you a chance to escape from unwanted calls.

    Now most people carry cell phones. Or worse, Crackberrys. Conversations with someone face to face are interrupted constantly by call phones on the sports field, in movies, the restroom, and the worst, when you’re writing some SQL content. No place is safe these days and as connectivity grows, with data services and wireless connections being deployed further and further, it becomes harder to get away.

    Now I don’t think that the advances are all bad. I like being able to call someone while driving on an errand, or even taking a call while shoveling manure when my wife is traveling. I get two things done at once, one usually not requiring much thought, and save some time in the day for other things. Like spending time with my kids. But I think you have to draw some lines. Turn off your cell phone in places. Set the expectation that you’re not always available. I know every call from your spouse could be an emergency, but you don’t need to answer in the middle of a movie to hear that milk is low at home. Your kids don’t deserve to be interrupted from their baseball or soccer game because your boss wants to ask you something.

    There are definite times where you need to be reached and it’s great that you can. But setup some code or page. Use 911 or something similar if someone really has an emergency, but wanting to ask if you want pizza for dinner is not an emergency. A query about how your project is going is not an emergency. Your child going to the hospital for stitches is.

    As we become more connected, the need for boundaries becomes more important. Not only to show respect for those around us, but also to keep our sanity. The thresholds for alerts in life are as important as the need for alerts. Learn to miss a few calls or emails and pick them up later.

    Those of us standing in front of you, trying to carry on a conversation with you will appreciate it.