Back To Basics: Deep Dive Part 4

Software Analysis: Do you really care?

The true measurement of your work – what happens after your work is done. This principle speaks of a deeper matter. It speaks to your motivation for working, your motivation for being an analyst.

Many people only work to earn a salary, just to survive. That’s it. How sad – how unfulfilling.You may be wondering, so what does this have to do with software or analysis?

The best software analyst, developer, or tester is the one who cares. It is the person who really cares about the customer’s business he or she is helping. - Henk Maritz

If you really care, you will go the extra mile, you will double-check that rule you overheard users talk about and that you did not really get, you will check if the developer understood you correctly, you will man up to be present when the business starts using the software that you have designed to make sure you delivered on your promises.

If you do not really care, you will probably have moved on to a new company or project before the software that you have designed goes live. You will say that it is not your job to check the developer output (more about this later), you will not go the extra mile.

I am aware many will disagree with me – that’s OK

To make my point, let’s consider the following:

Let’s say you are sick and go to the doctor. The doctor prescribes some medicine, and after 1 week, it’s not working. Without thinking, you would go back to the same doctor, hoping he would take ownership of a possible wrong diagnosis. Would you not appreciate the doctor more if he phones to find out how you are doing?

So, why would we expect a doctor to care, but we do not honestly care about our customers?

Nobody really thinks about this or that they are not caring, but I hope this subject shed some light on your character and that maybe you need to show more character and commitment to your work and customers.

I coined the following quote to conclude this subject:

It is not just the man with all the knowledge and experience of sailing in calm waters who captains the ship. It is the man with the grit and resolve to endure and work through the rough waters who captains the ship.

Let’s talk about the how.

If you are serious about growing in character and becoming better at this, the following are character traits that you will need to become more mature:

Faithfulness
Hard working
Honesty
Patience

The following are character traits that will pull you back and must be dealt with by yourself:

Selfishness
Laziness
Dishonest
Lack of self-control and endurance

To unpack this subject further you can download the whitepaper from https://jalia.co.za/services/

Author: Henk Maritz (jalia.co.za)

No part of this publication may be copied or used in any form without prior written permission from the author.