It feels like tech industry is kind of doing this weird imploding thing right now.
Maybe I’m old, but the drive towards constant progress without any thoughtfulness about impact or influence is making us really build some flimsy products.
I keep thinking that if we just refocused on real problems that people have and solving them well maybe we could actually do well.
But I know these issues run very deep and the systems were building on have so much bias.
I’m probably over thinking it. And probably have some Sunday scaries.
Either way though, the implication that tech industry is imploding might feel really scary for you, if you’re reading this, but I have some positivity.
I think, regardless of what is happening, this is a possible time beat out existing products but doing what they’re ignoring: focusing on people, users, core needs, motivations.
I don’t think we’re all doomed, I think things will shift is all.
@annaecook As a contractor, I'd love more clients more in tune with their actual needs! It's something special when we find one...
Half of the work is getting to know what clients really need, and half of development is really prototyping in order to check those needs. If clients would know precisely what they need, 75% of us would be unemployed.
@jgg @alcinnz @annaecook I think part of the problem, both in consulting and the problem of the original post, is that companies and clients aren't motivated to solve human problems so they're grasping for new gimmicks that will turn a profit or keep them afloat amidst the other gimmicks. We're not building things that improve society most of the time.
My experience is nearly all in the public sector. Nearly all projects are based on talking with the client, analyzing their workflow, and translate that into software. They are never aware of most of their workflow; for them, it is something so obvious they don't even know it is there. And the only way of discover some details is coding what they say and see it fail. Sometimes, they even deny they do something, only to become aware how wrong they are when they see it as software.
To be fair, the most unaware of their own processes are usually the most brilliant of them. The dumb ones usually have very simple workflows.
I guess you can't have very complex things in your head if you don't get your subconscious to do most of the work.
