davidbgk
/
larlet-fr-david-cache

<!doctype html><!-- This is a valid HTML5 document. -->
<!-- Screen readers, SEO, extensions and so on. -->
<html lang=fr>
<!-- Has to be within the first 1024 bytes, hence before the <title>
  See: https://www.w3.org/TR/2012/CR-html5-20121217/document-metadata.html#charset -->
<meta charset=utf-8>
<!-- Why no `X-UA-Compatible` meta: https://stackoverflow.com/a/6771584 -->
<!-- The viewport meta is quite crowded and we are responsible for that.
  See: https://codepen.io/tigt/post/meta-viewport-for-2015 -->
<meta name=viewport content="width=device-width,minimum-scale=1,initial-scale=1,shrink-to-fit=no">
<!-- Required to make a valid HTML5 document. -->
<title>You Are Not Paid to Write Code (archive) — David Larlet</title>
<!-- Generated from https://realfavicongenerator.net/ such a mess. -->
<link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="/static/david/icons/apple-touch-icon.png">
<link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="32x32" href="/static/david/icons/favicon-32x32.png">
<link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="16x16" href="/static/david/icons/favicon-16x16.png">
<link rel="manifest" href="/manifest.json">
<link rel="mask-icon" href="/static/david/icons/safari-pinned-tab.svg" color="#5bbad5">
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="/static/david/icons/favicon.ico">
<meta name="apple-mobile-web-app-title" content="David Larlet">
<meta name="application-name" content="David Larlet">
<meta name="msapplication-TileColor" content="#da532c">
<meta name="msapplication-config" content="/static/david/icons/browserconfig.xml">
<meta name="theme-color" content="#f0f0ea">
<!-- That good ol' feed, subscribe :p. -->
<link rel=alternate type="application/atom+xml" title=Feed href="/david/log/">

  <meta name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow">
  <meta content="origin-when-cross-origin" name="referrer">
  <!-- Canonical URL for SEO purposes -->
  <link rel="canonical" href="http://bravenewgeek.com/you-are-not-paid-to-write-code/">

<style>
/* http://meyerweb.com/eric/tools/css/reset/ */
html, body, div, span,
h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, p, blockquote, pre,
a, abbr, address, big, cite, code,
del, dfn, em, img, ins,
small, strike, strong, tt, var,
dl, dt, dd, ol, ul, li,
fieldset, form, label, legend,
table, caption, tbody, tfoot, thead, tr, th, td,
article, aside, canvas, details, embed,
figure, figcaption, footer, header, hgroup,
menu, nav, output, ruby, section, summary,
time, mark, audio, video {
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
  border: 0;
  font-size: 100%;
  font: inherit;
  vertical-align: baseline;
}
/* HTML5 display-role reset for older browsers */
article, aside, details, figcaption, figure,
footer, header, hgroup, menu, nav, section { display: block; }
body { line-height: 1; }
blockquote, q { quotes: none; }
blockquote:before, blockquote:after,
q:before, q:after {
  content: '';
  content: none;
}
table {
  border-collapse: collapse;
  border-spacing: 0;
}

/* http://practicaltypography.com/equity.html */
/* https://calendar.perfplanet.com/2016/no-font-face-bulletproof-syntax/ */
/* https://www.filamentgroup.com/lab/js-web-fonts.html */
@font-face {
  font-family: 'EquityTextB';
  src: url('/static/david/css/fonts/Equity-Text-B-Regular-webfont.woff2') format('woff2'),
       url('/static/david/css/fonts/Equity-Text-B-Regular-webfont.woff') format('woff');
  font-weight: 300;
  font-style: normal;
  font-display: swap;
}
@font-face {
  font-family: 'EquityTextB';
  src: url('/static/david/css/fonts/Equity-Text-B-Italic-webfont.woff2') format('woff2'),
       url('/static/david/css/fonts/Equity-Text-B-Italic-webfont.woff') format('woff');
  font-weight: 300;
  font-style: italic;
  font-display: swap;
}
@font-face {
  font-family: 'EquityTextB';
  src: url('/static/david/css/fonts/Equity-Text-B-Bold-webfont.woff2') format('woff2'),
       url('/static/david/css/fonts/Equity-Text-B-Bold-webfont.woff') format('woff');
  font-weight: 700;
  font-style: normal;
  font-display: swap;
}

@font-face {
  font-family: 'ConcourseT3';
  src: url('/static/david/css/fonts/concourse_t3_regular-webfont-20190806.woff2') format('woff2'),
       url('/static/david/css/fonts/concourse_t3_regular-webfont-20190806.woff') format('woff');
  font-weight: 300;
  font-style: normal;
  font-display: swap;
}


/* http://practice.typekit.com/lesson/caring-about-opentype-features/ */
body {
  /* http://www.cssfontstack.com/ Palatino 99% Win 86% Mac */
  font-family: "EquityTextB", Palatino, serif;
  background-color: #f0f0ea;
  color: #07486c;
  font-kerning: normal;
  -moz-osx-font-smoothing: grayscale;
  -webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased;
  text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;
  font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures contextual;
  font-feature-settings: "kern", "liga", "clig", "calt";
}
pre, code, kbd, samp, var, tt {
  font-family: 'TriplicateT4c', monospace;
}
em {
  font-style: italic;
  color: #323a45;
}
strong {
  font-weight: bold;
  color: black;
}
nav {
  background-color: #323a45;
  color: #f0f0ea;
  display: flex;
  justify-content: space-around;
  padding: 1rem .5rem;
}
  nav:last-child {
    border-bottom: 1vh solid #2d7474;
  }
  nav a {
    color: #f0f0ea;
  }
  nav abbr {
    border-bottom: 1px dotted white;
  }

h1 {
  border-top: 1vh solid #2d7474;
  border-bottom: .2vh dotted #2d7474;
  background-color: #e3e1e1;
  color: #323a45;
  text-align: center;
  padding: 5rem 0 4rem 0;
  width: 100%;
  font-family: 'ConcourseT3';
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
}
  h1.single {
    padding-bottom: 10rem;
  }
  h1 span {
    position: absolute;
    top: 1vh;
    left: 20%;
    line-height: 0;
  }
    h1 span a {
      line-height: 1.7;
      padding: 1rem 1.2rem .6rem 1.2rem;
      border-radius: 0 0 6% 6%;
      background: #2d7474;
      font-size: 1.3rem;
      color: white;
      text-decoration: none;
    }
h2 {
  margin: 4rem 0 1rem;
  border-top: .2vh solid #2d7474;
  padding-top: 1vh;
}
h3 {
  text-align: center;
  margin: 3rem 0 .75em;
}
hr {
  height: .4rem;
  width: .4rem;
  border-radius: .4rem;
  background: #07486c;
  margin: 2.5rem auto;
}
time {
  display: bloc;
  margin-left: 0 !important;
}
ul, ol {
  margin: 2rem;
}
ul {
  list-style-type: square;
}
a {
  text-decoration-skip-ink: auto;
  text-decoration-thickness: 0.05em;
  text-underline-offset: 0.09em;
}
article {
  max-width: 50rem;
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  margin: 2rem auto;
}
  article.single {
    border-top: .2vh dotted #2d7474;
    margin: -6rem auto 1rem auto;
    background: #f0f0ea;
    padding: 2rem;
  }
  article p:last-child {
    margin-bottom: 1rem;
  }
p {
  padding: 0 .5rem;
  margin-left: 3rem;
}
  p + p,
  figure + p {
    margin-top: 2rem;
  }

blockquote {
  background-color: #e3e1e1;
  border-left: .5vw solid #2d7474;
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  align-items: center;
  padding: 1rem;
  margin: 1.5rem;
}
  blockquote cite {
    font-style: italic;
  }
  blockquote p {
    margin-left: 0;
  }

figure {
  border-top: .2vh solid #2d7474;
  background-color: #e3e1e1;
  text-align: center;
  padding: 1.5rem 0;
  margin: 1rem 0 0;
  font-size: 1.5rem;
  width: 100%;
}
  figure img {
    max-width: 250px;
    max-height: 250px;
    border: .5vw solid #323a45;
    padding: 1px;
  }
figcaption {
  padding: 1rem;
  line-height: 1.4;
}
aside {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  background-color: #e3e1e1;
  padding: 1rem 0;
  border-bottom: .2vh solid #07486c;
}
  aside p {
    max-width: 50rem;
    margin: 0 auto;
  }

/* https://fvsch.com/code/css-locks/ */
p, li, pre, code, kbd, samp, var, tt, time, details, figcaption {
  font-size: 1rem;
  line-height: calc( 1.5em + 0.2 * 1rem );
}
h1 {
  font-size: 1.9rem;
  line-height: calc( 1.2em + 0.2 * 1rem );
}
h2 {
  font-size: 1.6rem;
  line-height: calc( 1.3em + 0.2 * 1rem );
}
h3 {
  font-size: 1.35rem;
  line-height: calc( 1.4em + 0.2 * 1rem );
}
@media (min-width: 20em) {
  /* The (100vw - 20rem) / (50 - 20) part
     resolves to 0-1rem, depending on the
     viewport width (between 20em and 50em). */
  p, li, pre, code, kbd, samp, var, tt, time, details, figcaption {
    font-size: calc( 1rem + .6 * (100vw - 20rem) / (50 - 20) );
    line-height: calc( 1.5em + 0.2 * (100vw - 50rem) / (20 - 50) );
    margin-left: 0;
  }
  h1 {
    font-size: calc( 1.9rem + 1.5 * (100vw - 20rem) / (50 - 20) );
    line-height: calc( 1.2em + 0.2 * (100vw - 50rem) / (20 - 50) );
  }
  h2 {
    font-size: calc( 1.5rem + 1.5 * (100vw - 20rem) / (50 - 20) );
    line-height: calc( 1.3em + 0.2 * (100vw - 50rem) / (20 - 50) );
  }
  h3 {
    font-size: calc( 1.35rem + 1.5 * (100vw - 20rem) / (50 - 20) );
    line-height: calc( 1.4em + 0.2 * (100vw - 50rem) / (20 - 50) );
  }
}
@media (min-width: 50em) {
  /* The right part of the addition *must* be a
     rem value. In this example we *could* change
     the whole declaration to font-size:2.5rem,
     but if our baseline value was not expressed
     in rem we would have to use calc. */
  p, li, pre, code, kbd, samp, var, tt, time, details, figcaption {
    font-size: calc( 1rem + .6 * 1rem );
    line-height: 1.5em;
  }
  p, li, pre, details {
    margin-left: 3rem;
  }
  h1 {
    font-size: calc( 1.9rem + 1.5 * 1rem );
    line-height: 1.2em;
  }
  h2 {
    font-size: calc( 1.5rem + 1.5 * 1rem );
    line-height: 1.3em;
  }
  h3 {
    font-size: calc( 1.35rem + 1.5 * 1rem );
    line-height: 1.4em;
  }
  figure img {
    max-width: 500px;
    max-height: 500px;
  }
}

figure.unsquared {
  margin-bottom: 1.5rem;
}
  figure.unsquared img {
    height: inherit;
  }


@media print {
  body { font-size: 100%; }
  a:after { content: " (" attr(href) ")"; }
  a, a:link, a:visited, a:after {
    text-decoration: underline;
    text-shadow: none !important;
    background-image: none !important;
    background: white;
    color: black;
  }
  abbr[title] { border-bottom: 0; }
  abbr[title]:after { content: " (" attr(title) ")"; }
  img { page-break-inside: avoid; }
  @page { margin: 2cm .5cm; }
  h1, h2, h3 { page-break-after: avoid; }
  p3 { orphans: 3; widows: 3; }
  img {
    max-width: 250px !important;
    max-height: 250px !important;
  }
  nav, aside { display: none; }
}

ul.with_columns {
  column-count: 1;
}
@media (min-width: 20em) {
  ul.with_columns {
    column-count: 2;
  }
}
@media (min-width: 50em) {
  ul.with_columns {
    column-count: 3;
  }
}
ul.with_two_columns {
  column-count: 1;
}
@media (min-width: 20em) {
  ul.with_two_columns {
    column-count: 1;
  }
}
@media (min-width: 50em) {
  ul.with_two_columns {
    column-count: 2;
  }
}

.gallery {
  display: flex;
  flex-wrap: wrap;
  justify-content: space-around;
}
  .gallery figure img {
    margin-left: 1rem;
    margin-right: 1rem;
  }
  .gallery figure figcaption {
    font-family: 'ConcourseT3'
  }

footer {
  font-family: 'ConcourseT3';
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  border-top: 3px solid white;
  padding: 4rem 0;
  background-color: #07486c;
  color: white;
}
  footer > * {
    max-width: 50rem;
    margin: 0 auto;
  }
  footer a {
    color: #f1c40f;
  }
  footer .avatar {
    width: 200px;
    height: 200px;
    border-radius: 50%;
    float: left;
    -webkit-shape-outside: circle();
    shape-outside: circle();
    margin-right: 2rem;
    padding: 2px 5px 5px 2px;
    background: white;
    border-left: 1px solid #f1c40f;
    border-top: 1px solid #f1c40f;
    border-right: 5px solid #f1c40f;
    border-bottom: 5px solid #f1c40f;
  }
</style>

<h1>
  <span><a id="jumper" href="#jumpto" title="Un peu perdu ?">?</a></span>
  You Are Not Paid to Write Code (archive)
  <time>Pour la pérennité des contenus liés. Non-indexé, retrait sur simple email.</time>
</h1>
<section>
  <article>
    <h3><a href="http://bravenewgeek.com/you-are-not-paid-to-write-code/">Source originale du contenu</a></h3>
    <p><a href="http://widgetsandshit.com/teddziuba/2010/10/taco-bell-programming.html">“Taco Bell Programming”</a> is the idea that we can solve many of the problems we face as software engineers with clever reconfigurations of the same basic Unix tools. The name comes from the fact that every item on the menu at Taco Bell, a company which generates almost <em>$2 billion</em> in revenue annually, is simply a different configuration of roughly eight ingredients.</p>

<p>Many people grumble or reject the notion of using proven tools or techniques. It’s boring. It requires investing time to learn at the expense of shipping code.  It doesn’t do this one thing that we need it to do. It won’t work for us. For some reason—and I continue to be <em>completely baffled</em> by this—everyone sees their situation as a unique snowflake despite the fact that a million other people have probably done the same thing. It’s a weird form of tunnel vision, and I see it at every level in the organization. I catch myself doing it on occasion too. I think it’s just human nature.</p>

<p>I was able to come to terms with this once I internalized something a colleague once said: <strong>you are not paid to write code</strong>. You have <em>never</em> been paid to write code. In fact, code is a nasty byproduct of being a software engineer.</p>

<blockquote><p>Every time you write code or introduce third-party services, you are introducing the possibility of failure into your system.</p></blockquote>

<p>I think the idea of Taco Bell Programming can be generalized further and has broader implications based on what I see in industry. There are a lot of parallels to be drawn from <em>The Systems Bible</em> by John Gall, which provides valuable commentary on general systems theory. Gall’s Fundamental Theorem of Systems is that <strong>new systems mean new problems</strong>. I think the same can safely be said of code—more code, more problems. <strong>Do it without a new system if you can.</strong></p>

<p>Systems are seductive and engineers in particular seem to have a <a href="http://bravenewgeek.com/not-invented-here/">predisposition for them</a>. They promise to do a job faster, better, and more easily than you could do it by yourself or with a less specialized system. But when you introduce a new system, you introduce new variables, new failure points, and new problems.</p>

<blockquote><p>But if you set up a system, you are likely to find your time and effort now being consumed in the care and feeding of the system itself. New problems are created by its very presence. Once set up, it won’t go away, it grows and encroaches. It begins to do strange and wonderful things. Breaks down in ways you never thought possible. It kicks back, gets in the way, and opposes its own proper function. Your own perspective becomes distorted by being in the system. You become anxious and push on it to make it work. Eventually you come to believe that the misbegotten product it so grudgingly delivers is what you really wanted all the time. At that point encroachment has become complete. You have become absorbed. You are now a systems person.</p></blockquote>

<p>The last systems principle we look at is one I find particularly poignant: <strong>almost anything is easier to get into than out of</strong>. When we introduce new systems, new tools, new lines of code, we’re with them for the long haul. It’s like a baby that doesn’t grow up.</p>

<p>We’re not paid to write code, we’re paid to add value (or reduce cost) to the business. Yet I often see people measuring their worth in code, in systems, in tools—all of the output that’s easy to measure. I see it come at the expense of attending meetings. I see it at the expense of supporting other teams. I see it at the expense of cross-training and personal/professional development. It’s like full-bore coding has become the norm and we’ve given up everything else.</p>

<p>Another area I see this manifest is with the siloing of responsibilities. Product, Platform, Infrastructure, Operations, DevOps, QA—whatever the silos, it’s created a sort of <a href="http://bravenewgeek.com/shit-rolls-downhill/">responsibility lethargy</a>. “I’m paid to write software, not tests” or “I’m paid to write features, not deploy and monitor them.” Things of that nature.</p>

<p>I think this is only addressed by stewarding a strong engineering culture and instilling the right values and expectations. For example, engineers should understand that they are not defined by their tools but rather the problems they solve and ultimately the value they add. But it’s important to spell out that this goes beyond things like commits, PRs, and other vanity metrics. We should embrace the principles of systems theory and Taco Bell Programming. New systems or more code should be the last resort, not the first step. Further, we should embody what it really means to be an engineer rather than measuring raw output. You are not paid to write code.</p>
  </article>
</section>


<nav id="jumpto">
  <p>
    <a href="/david/blog/">Accueil du blog</a> |
    <a href="http://bravenewgeek.com/you-are-not-paid-to-write-code/">Source originale</a> |
    <a href="/david/stream/2019/">Accueil du flux</a>
  </p>
</nav>

<footer>
  <div>
    <img src="/static/david/david-larlet-avatar.jpg" loading="lazy" class="avatar" width="200" height="200">
    <p>
      Bonjour/Hi!
      Je suis <a href="/david/" title="Profil public">David&nbsp;Larlet</a>, je vis actuellement à Montréal et j’alimente cet espace depuis 15 ans. <br>
      Si tu as apprécié cette lecture, n’hésite pas à poursuivre ton exploration. Par exemple via les <a href="/david/blog/" title="Expériences bienveillantes">réflexions bimestrielles</a>, la <a href="/david/stream/2019/" title="Pensées (dés)articulées">veille hebdomadaire</a> ou en t’abonnant au <a href="/david/log/" title="S’abonner aux publications via RSS">flux RSS</a> (<a href="/david/blog/2019/flux-rss/" title="Tiens c’est quoi un flux RSS ?">so 2005</a>).
    </p>
    <p>
      Je m’intéresse à la place que je peux avoir dans ce monde. En tant qu’humain, en tant que membre d’une famille et en tant qu’associé d’une coopérative. De temps en temps, je fais aussi des <a href="https://github.com/davidbgk" title="Principalement sur Github mais aussi ailleurs">trucs techniques</a>. Et encore plus rarement, <a href="/david/talks/" title="En ce moment je laisse plutôt la place aux autres">j’en parle</a>.
    </p>
    
    <p>
      Voici quelques articles choisis :
      <a href="/david/blog/2019/faire-equipe/" title="Accéder à l’article complet">Faire équipe</a>,
      <a href="/david/blog/2018/bivouac-automnal/" title="Accéder à l’article complet">Bivouac automnal</a>,
      <a href="/david/blog/2018/commodite-effondrement/" title="Accéder à l’article complet">Commodité et effondrement</a>,
      <a href="/david/blog/2017/donnees-communs/" title="Accéder à l’article complet">Des données aux communs</a>,
      <a href="/david/blog/2016/accompagner-enfant/" title="Accéder à l’article complet">Accompagner un enfant</a>,
      <a href="/david/blog/2016/senior-developer/" title="Accéder à l’article complet">Senior developer</a>,
      <a href="/david/blog/2016/illusion-sociale/" title="Accéder à l’article complet">L’illusion sociale</a>,
      <a href="/david/blog/2016/instantane-scopyleft/" title="Accéder à l’article complet">Instantané Scopyleft</a>,
      <a href="/david/blog/2016/enseigner-web/" title="Accéder à l’article complet">Enseigner le Web</a>,
      <a href="/david/blog/2016/simplicite-defaut/" title="Accéder à l’article complet">Simplicité par défaut</a>,
      <a href="/david/blog/2016/minimalisme-esthetique/" title="Accéder à l’article complet">Minimalisme et esthétique</a>,
      <a href="/david/blog/2014/un-web-omni-present/" title="Accéder à l’article complet">Un web omni-présent</a>,
      <a href="/david/blog/2014/manifeste-developpeur/" title="Accéder à l’article complet">Manifeste de développeur</a>,
      <a href="/david/blog/2013/confort-convivialite/" title="Accéder à l’article complet">Confort et convivialité</a>,
      <a href="/david/blog/2013/testament-numerique/" title="Accéder à l’article complet">Testament numérique</a>,
      et <a href="/david/blog/" title="Accéder aux archives">bien d’autres…</a>
    </p>
    <p>
      On peut <a href="mailto:david%40larlet.fr" title="Envoyer un courriel">échanger par courriel</a>. Si éventuellement tu souhaites que l’on travaille ensemble, tu devrais commencer par consulter le <a href="http://larlet.com">profil dédié à mon activité professionnelle</a> et/ou contacter directement <a href="http://scopyleft.fr/">scopyleft</a>, la <abbr title="Société coopérative et participative">SCOP</abbr> dont je fais partie depuis six ans. Je recommande au préalable de lire <a href="/david/blog/2018/cout-site/" title="Attention ce qui va suivre peut vous choquer">combien coûte un site</a> et pourquoi je suis plutôt favorable à une <a href="/david/pro/devis/" title="Discutons-en !">non-demande de devis</a>.
    </p>
    <p>
      Je ne traque pas ta navigation mais mon
      <abbr title="Alwaysdata, 62 rue Tiquetonne 75002 Paris, +33.184162340">hébergeur</abbr>
      conserve des logs d’accès.
    </p>
  </div>
</footer>
<script type="text/javascript">
  ;(_ => {
    const jumper = document.getElementById('jumper')
    jumper.addEventListener('click', e => {
      e.preventDefault()
      const anchor = e.target.getAttribute('href')
      const targetEl = document.getElementById(anchor.substring(1))
      targetEl.scrollIntoView({behavior: 'smooth'})
    })
  })()
</script>