This week, I chose to write on the pattern “Expose your ignorance.” This pattern describes how a company pays you to work as a software developer and expects you to know what you’re doing. The issue is that you are inexperienced with some essential technologies, and the manager and staff require assurance that you will be able to deliver the software on time. Everyone around you, including your management, client, and coworkers, as well as yourself, is under a lot of pressure to provide software. When individuals ask how long feature X will take you to complete, you can sense their demand for assurance in their eyes. Asking questions is the most obvious method to reveal your ignorance. This is easier said than done, especially when the person asking assumes you already know the answer.
This pattern, in my opinion, is critical for anyone who wants to or is now working as a software developer. At first, I assumed that becoming a software developer was all about learning which programming languages and which ones are the best.
But, in the end, it’s all about how quickly you can solve the problem and provide the finished software. I liked how this pattern encourages people to ask questions even if it means sacrificing their pride and dignity, and I believe it is the most significant thing I learned from it. One of the most significant skills a craftsman can have is the ability to learn new things, identify areas of ignorance, and seek to eliminate them. Ignorance, like dry areas in a garden, can be reduced by planting seeds of knowledge. Experiment, practice, and reading will help you water your seeds. You can choose to hide these bare patches from the light, embarrassed by their size, covering them to keep your pride intact. Or you can decide to expose them, being honest with yourself and the people who are depending on you, and asking for help. I really liked this pattern as it says to get rid of your ignorance or find your ignorance even if it means to sacrifice your pride. It is all about having the ability to learn new things from others and asking for their help in need. By the end, you will have in depth knowledge of a few threads of technology. With these threads, you can weave together robust software applications on a few platforms and domains.
From the blog cs@worcester – Dream to Reality by tamusandesh99 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.