You can watch reality shows on just about every profession - bike builders, hotrod builders, fishermen, lumberjacks, truck drivers and more. What you don't see and probably never will is a reality show set in a software development shop. Apart from the obvious lack of interesting props (fish, trees, cars) and the relatively uninteresting shots of people hunched over workstations one would think that over a period of a project you could rustle up thirty minutes of interesting material that you could edit into a show. The show would be of a project with more people than takes to build a measly motorbike, more risk than driving a truck over ice (okay, maybe not more, but at least comparable), filled with fun and interesting characters.
Not likely. Not because it is not interesting, but because it is completely uninteresting to most normal people. The bulk of television viewers can 'get' fishing for crabs (it seems), but they will never get software development - it is simply too abstract.
To illustrate this, consider the following email thread that went around our team this afternoon. There is a certain type of person who will understand why this is funny - show this to someone outside the industry and they will think it inane. The names and other headers have been removed, but you will get the idea (the <hr>'s split the replies). This took about an hour and a half to get around and involved a few people and reached a natural, but sudden end...
Subject: THE BANANA TEST
There is a very, very tall coconut tree and there are 4 animals,
a Lion
, a Chimpanzee
, a Giraffe
, and a Squirrel
, who pass by.
They decide to compete to see who is the fastest to get a banana off the tree.
Who do you guess will win?
Your answer will reflect your personality.
So think carefully . . .. Try and answer within 30 seconds
Got your answer?
Now scroll down to see the analysis.
If your answer is:
Lion = you're dull.
Chimpanzee = you're a moron.
Giraffe = you're a complete idiot.
Squirrel = you're just hopelessly stupid.
A COCONUT TREE DOESN'T HAVE BANANAS.
Obviously you're stressed and overworked.
You should take some time off and relax!
Try again next year.
I have to say I thought it was the Chimp, as his descendants would most likely evolve first to create the ability to genetically modify the tree to start growing bananas. I did not anticipate the race being brief and I was concerned that the tree may no longer be there to modify.
Hmm. Pretty sure there was no mention of the banana having actually grown on the coconut tree. I assumed the graduate who was benefitting society by carrying out this experiment for his/her PhD had placed the banana on top of the tree prior to commencement of the test.
My assumption, and yes I know it is a wild one, is that in the tree were some ex-bankers from the city who have nothing to do this week but hang around in trees holding bananas. Or XL holiday makers stuck on a Caribbean island during a hurricane with no accommodation are able to trade their return ticket for a banana and sit above the storm surge in a coconut tree – yes, that seems more likely.
It’s amazing how we all think differently. I assumed that for the coconut tree to be very very tall it was obviously genetically modified perhaps even with a banana tree hence allowing for a banana to grow. I was also confused on how the race would actually work, would a lion actually care about running up a tree just for a banana when he could just eat the chimp and the squirrel……..
This thread is an illustration of why the world doesn’t understand technical people. Forward this to you partner and they just won’t get it.
Does this mean technical people don’t read Instructions (FRSs)?
Would’ve thought it was clear enough.
So in software terms you would get the business people to adjust the spec to a coconut tree that grows bananas, to fit the specification of what’s been built already.
Exactly! If the developer made an incorrect assumption up front (bananas don’t grow on coconut trees) but has already coded the whole frikkin thing up (and written tests that pass) then the only thing that you can do is go back and point out the possible gray areas in the requirement and demonstrate that they are open to interpretation
The client may also think that a Coconut tree that grows bananas is pretty cool and want to keep it. As they hadn’t thought it was possible to begin with!
“ahhh I give up! I just cant find that damn banana…..”
Hang on…
That doesn’t look like a coconut tree!
Now you are making an incorrect assumption up front.
Try googling ‘lion in a coconut tree’ and find a better result!!
So if it’s not found using Google it doesn’t exist?
In a (coco) nutshell…yeh!
Another incorrect assumption eh?