Sunday, November 1, 2009

Make Better Software? Only if you can afford it

At the bottom of Joel Spolsky's latest blog post, Figuring out what your company is all about, there is an advertisement displayed for a new video series FogCreek has put together. It's titled Make Better Software.

It's a great idea. FogCreek is full of very smart software developers working in a great space with excellent hardware and a really smart (this is debatable for some) management team. They're so proud of their accomplishments, they'd like to share their formula for success with others through a video series describing six major areas of software development:
  • Recruiting
  • Team Members
  • Environment
  • Schedules
  • Lifecycle
  • Design of Software

Where it all falls down is the price; from now until December 1st, you can save $400 and order a set of the DVDs for $1595. I'm sure it's a bargain if it introduces positive change in how you work, how your workplace operates, or just helps get everyone on the same page. Spending less than $2000 to impact your career is better than attending a conference on the technology you're already working with.

The problem, as I see it, is twofold:

  1. Developers like myself aren't going to drop that much money on a video series for themselves, so we'll probably never get to see it
  2. Most companies won't recognize the value in such an expense (including the time investment), so they won't get on board

I can't think of a single company that I've ever worked for that would spend that much money of a set of DVDs, and most of those companies wouldn't change even if they watched them. Maybe I've just worked for the wrong set of companies over the course of my career. But maybe, just maybe, FogCreek doesn't realize the gap between themselves and nearly everyone else. Even worse? What FogCreek does realize the gap, but most companies just don't care?

Personally, I'd love to go through those videos, but chances are really good that I never will.