Not only programmers but Power Programmers

I started this blog to help people that work in big companies. I have been working in mainframe environment for ten years, playing different roles. I also developed a small Project Management system using Microsoft Office and VBA for couple of years.

Here, I am more focused on soft skills, those characteristics that differentiate highly skilled IT developers. Later, I will focus on technical skills but, for now, I will explore important traits for people who work for companies and have to deal with co-workers, managers, business analysts, end-users, shareholders and others.

To begin with, I am trying to define a new kind of programmer: the power programmer. Power programmers are developers, or programmers, who are more than code-writers. They are more similar to analyst-programmers, people who understand the system where they work, as well as, the business rules.

I have worked for insurance companies most of my life and I can tell you that the most successful professionals are those highly skilled programmers, some are even average, who understand the system, business and the company culture.

If you want to move forward in your career and be well regarded in your workplace, you must focus on your soft skills along with your technical ones. You have to show interest in your work and constantly ask yourself: “how can I become a better asset to my employer?”

I will discuss what you can do to improve your chances of success inside your company.

Power Programming Point

Power Programming Point: The importance of soft skills

In today's business market where we can find a great amount of highly skilled developers, soft skills are setting apart the most successful workers inside a company.

Now that I have more than ten years of experience, when I go to an interview, the interviewers are more interested in my soft skills. They are interested in how I will fit their organization and their working environment, getting along with the other employers and being interested in my work.

Smart managers will try to be certain that you can at least go up one position. They don't want to hire someone who is only skilled to work in the position to which they are hiring. They want people who want to grow inside the company and bring value to them.

Many developers are concerned about programming and doing what they are told but, in reality, those who learn more about the big picture, the company environment, the business, are considered better options when time for promotions or bonus arrive.

So, do not forget that you have to work on your soft skills. Be nice to your co-workers, show interest in what you are doing, try to help your boss when defining your own works, bring constructive ideas to the table and, above all, think about how you can improve the company's system as whole, not only your own part

Power Programming Point

How is COBOL today?

I finally came across a fair article about COBOL looking at it from a business point of view instead of a technical one. Many IT theorists have been claiming COBOL's death for decades but I believe that the majority of them look at the language as academics.

As Mr. Abraham points out in his article, “[COBOL] is a basic fact of business life.” It is a fundamental tool for business. Many companies that started decades ago have been using it and now COBOL supports their system. Industries like Bank, Insurance, Credit Cards use it effectively and instead of concentrated on changing it, they are trying to integrate it with new tools to increase its power and capabilities.

Today’s concern about COBOL developers retiring and leaving companies helpless may be linked to a different agenda, trying to promoting another languages. I have worked in Portugal and Brazil and I know that there are many young programmers there and a few universities still teach COBOL. However, the majority of the students are not too interested because their professors allege the language is dying or dead.

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When programmers and analysts can't compreehend each other

I like to believe that programmers are becoming extinct. They should be giving place to analyst-programmers or developers. The difference? While programmers depend on someone to tell them which programs to change or create, developers (or analyst-programmers) should understand what have to be done and decide how to do it.

Probably, the best developers are the ones capable of understanding the big picture when they are working instead of being aware of their specific task only. Systems today are vast and business oriented so, the more a developer understands the business, the better their solutions will be.

Deeply, all concepts are changing programmers are becoming developers, and programs are becoming solutions, even when a project involves maintenances primarily. Usually there are lots of programs to change when maintenance is required.

The inability that some programmers have to understand business concepts or points of view usually impair their ability to develop a good solution. As a result we may have a solution who will require lots of adjustments closer to implementation or the programmer will spend more time trying to grasp the solution's needs.

One of the basic requisites of Decision Making and Critical Thinking is understanding the environment. It cannot be different when developers are working. They must understand what they are dealing with in order to reach better results.

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