WEBD 100 – The Developer Mindset 1

The Developer Mindset

Logic + Creativity

Logic

As you develop your skills as a developer may or may not directly notice it, but the way your brain is wired will change. You will develop new neural pathways in your brain that will quite literally change the way you think and see the world to some varying degree. The lifestyle of a developer in this field is problem/solution (for other areas of computer science it is if/then). With that said, the problem-solution mindset will help you as a developer and in the business overall.

When your client, boss, or you task you/yourself to deploy a project, the 1st question you must ask yourself is: What is the most efficient plan of attack? How can you deploy said project most efficiently in such a way that both you and the client/boss/yourself can get what they want, and at the same time you deploy and finish said project in the most efficient way in terms of time? Ending in the result of the utmost quality work, done in a time-efficient manner. Both you and the client benefit as they get quality work done, and you reach your bottom line (getting paid or reaching the goal) as quickly as possible given the reward presented.

In some cases as a developer, you may not have the solution and you may have to find that solution before you can plan the project. This is part and parcel to the work we do. It is part of the challenge and the rush. If a client/boss or yourself have an idea and want to implement that idea into reality, you may need to “figure it out”. This consists of what I explained before in one of the first classes: Resourcefulness. The ability to seek out and find the solutions to a problem before you even know what they are, or even in some cases before you even know how to even do it, starting with the problem.

In the eyes of the client, they have the problem and you are the solution.

From your point of view, they present you with that problem and you must either already know or find the solution and deploy it to alleviate the problem they had.

The last assignment is a good test of that ability. As your prof, however, I am inclined to help with this as this is your first time tasked with such a problem. It is beneficial for you to execute this project in the most efficient way possible, and it is like putting together a puzzle.

You have a 3-tiered project consisting of:

• Typography
• Redesign/Rebrand
• Implementation

You cannot finish one without the others done. In other words, you have a puzzle and have to put this puzzle together in the most efficient way possible to conserve time. As a developer, your time is priceless, as is your expertise. So how will you execute this in the most efficient way?

Logic would dictate that to some varying degree:

You can’t implement this project (finish the website) without the design mockups for the design class. You can’t finish the typography aspects without first doing the redesign, and you definitely can’t finish the website without the typography figured out. And you cannot finalize the typography or the website without the redesign.

Things/plans can change along the way, yes, but the most logical solution is to do the redesign and, whilst doing the redesign, figure out the typography to gauge what works best with your new design. By the time you have the redesign finished, you will also have the typography finished, effectively getting them both done at the same time. At that point, you could most easily get the website done.

All the while keeping in mind not to do a redesign in such a way that goes too far beyond your expertise level, rendering it unimplementable. In the industry, you could outsource such work if you are self-employed. But in the class or office, it is up to you to deploy your own work. This is another aspect of the mindset of the developer. It is advantageous to plan ahead and always be a step ahead. Planning ahead will make the deployment of projects much smoother.

The aspects of what we do are both left- and right-brained. Logic and creativity melded together, employing and deploying both of these aspects of yourself into the planning and the work will end result in a “flow state” that will allow you to whiz through the work and achieve more and more success the better able you are to align these aspects of your mind.

Now is your chance to build up on this in this final assignment. This is where we get to the next aspect.

Creativity

Development is a space where you can exercise your raw creative power; that creative energy can result in many projects that wow the visitors. Being able to couple logic with creativity can make for some really innovative stuff. Depending on the client/boss, you may find that you might be limited in creative potential visually, but if that creative energy is tempered in a sense, it can be harnessed in other ways other than just the typical visual aspects.

That creative energy can result in more efficient user interfaces, layouts, graphics—something that speaks to the user in ways so subtle that they don’t even realize the effect it may have over them. Other ways may include (but are not limited to) coding aspects, workarounds, patches, even hacking/anti-hacking.

Creativity is not limited only to graphics and colors. It expands into everything we do, even the logic. Creativity will help you in logic. It will help you figure out more and more effective ways to deploy projects. Your creative mind will separate you from your competition and leave your clients wondering how the heck you figured that problem out the way you did. Creativity does not only have to be thought of in the sense of visual, but can also extend into implementation aspects, complementing the logic.

When it comes to design, there is good design and bad design. Let’s look at some analogous examples and practical examples.

If you are a fan of cars, you can look at a car and say to yourself, “that looks clean”—sound design and function all rolled into one machine. But sometimes you see a monstrosity and think to yourself, “how the heck could anyone think that looks good!?”

VS

Which one of these choices would you rather drive? Both options at base could probably be bought at similar prices, too. Then the extra work would be needed to make them look as they are in the pictures.

The same goes for development where websites are concerned…

VS

Which fashion website would you rather browse through?

This is part of the argument presented as far as creativity goes. As much as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, there still is an (arguably) quantifiable reasoning behind what works and what does not.

The combination of both logic and creativity will have you better equipped to create better, more effective projects, both on the back end and the front end.

Good design is the result of knowing what it is, how it works, and why it works. Once you have these 3 things down, you can let your imagination run wild and push the boundaries.

Good development is the result of implementing the above stated, plus making it all work both in its form and function.

Categorised in: Lectures, Portfolio, WEBD 100

This post was written by amax