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Samurai Developers

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There are software developers much more skilled than what is usually called “guru”. I call them “samurai” developers.

While junior developers like the beauty of code they write, intermediate developers like the beauty of system architecture they design, and senior (guru) developers like the business effectiveness of market products they roll out, samurai developers like the beauty of doing nothing. Literally.

By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class. The samurai followed a set of rules that came to be known as bushidō. /Wikipedia/

So here is a code of conduct of the samurai developer. It is definitely not bushidō direct adaptation, but mostly a poetic interpretation of what is associated with samurais.

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Latent Evil of Coherent Teams

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On one hand, coherent teams with everyone being a friend to the others are cool, especially if you are part of such a team. These teams can move heaven and earth when their members’ skills and talents are properly fit. Self-organized, self-managed, self-controlled, so on. Perfect form of “human capital”.

On the other hand, such teams are atomic and indivisible. And that is terrible if you are a business owner; or a manager of some level outside of the team. Firing a team member — firing the team leaders — firing the whole team — failing the business. Bus factor = 1.

It turns out, that the perfect form of human capital is the worst evil.

Based on the story of www.lenta.ru in March 2014.