Has everyone noticed how many open marketing jobs there are out there right now? Apparently, in addition to being a country of blackjack dealers and security guards, we're a country filled with something to sell - if only it were pitched right. Such is the current - hopefully modest - recession. These ads for marketing people are for VPs and entry level, not too many in the middle. It seems that some of these companies feel the need to revamp their overall approach while others figure more marketing is better marketing.
Applying this experience to the world of software development, maybe its not so different from boom times. Everyone has a product to build/ is founding a company/ is a VP of something development related. In a boom, entry level programmers are "senior" and the number of engineers on a project is the primary indicator of its success.
Right now, software development professional are doing pretty well. The work seems to be there (when you finally get past, or manage to avoid, those automated technical interview test programs). The current trend toward Agile development methods is making our business vastly better. Agile gives everyone an opportunity to build a success. Agile also exposes everyone.
The toughest part of successfully implementing Agile may be successfully finding the "product owner" on an Agile team. It's typically a product manager who gets the job. As the product owner, s/he represents the company's executives, visionaries and high-level decision makers on the team. As product owner, s/he must know, very specifically:
- Who are the largest, fastest, and most devoted group of buyers, and
- What are their skills, goals and desires?
i.e. Tell us developers our market; tell us what will motivate a purchase; and describe the true needs of our users.
Can your product owner do that? Is there anyone in your company who can? Does the answer remain constant for more than a month?
Agile exposes everyone.
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