[IxDA Discuss] design by committee??

[Robert Hoekman, Jr.]

> Does anyone have any successful experiences to share regarding
> improving synergies between design/development?


Always, always, always explain the *why* behind design decisions/suggestions
you make, and be able to make design decisions on a dime. Programmers are
task masters - they figure something out, build it, and move on. If you work
the same way (ar can at least provide the illusion that you do), and can
cite good reasons (based on research, testing, etc) for why your ideas are
the right way to go, then they'll see that you know what you're talking
about, that they don't understand your domain nearly as well as you do, and
start letting you do your thing.

When I started with my current employer, there was one developer in
particular that debated everything. *Everything*. So I always made my case,
tried to keep him focused on the dev side of things by discussing how the
design could be implemented, how the code could be reused, etc. Basically,
if I kept his mind on development and why my idea was good for him, he lost
interest in debating me and got more interested in implementation.
Eventually, he stopped debating me. He still does on occasion, to a much
less extreme degree, but for the most part, he's learned that I know what
I'm doing and has started accepting my decisions verbatim. Now, he comes to
me about almost everything.

In some cases, though, they'll do what they want regardless of what you say.
It's just a cold, hard fact when the inmates are allowed to run the asylum.

-r-