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Marc Clifton wrote: The ability to say, and the frequent use of, the word NO
Very true, but I'd go further, to say "The ability to say, and the frequent use of, the word NO whilst being able to justify your reasons in a way a project manager can understand."
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Wastedtalent wrote: he ability to say, and the frequent use of, the word NO whilst being able to justify your reasons in a way a project manager can understand.
Very true, and I'd add, from my experience working with management, say no but have at least one (preferably two or three) alternative options in hand.
Marc
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Marc Clifton wrote: The ability to say, and the frequent use of, the word NO
I prefer to take the approach of giving all the necessary information to the decision-makers (the costs, benefits, estimates, approximate time-scales, impact etc etc) and let them make the decision. Then it's on their heads not mine. If they say yes to something that is really stupid, then that's entirely their decision.
As an example of this, in a previous company (who shall remain nameless to spare the innocent) we were asked to estimate how long it would take to convert a major part of the application from Classic ASP to ASP.NET. The team took a day off site and together we came up with our best estimate of 9 months. The CTO had already told one of our big clients we could do it in 3 - 4 months. We told him it was impossible. He cajoled us with overtime and a bonus payment if we succeeded. We told him again it was nothing to do with the money, there just wasn't enough time and people. Suffice to say we didn't hit the target. Over the course of the next 12 months the entire development team left (including myself) and eventually he was fired.
There are always consequences to be paid for ignoring the advice of those who are best positioned to give that advice.
"There are two ways of constructing a software design: One way is to make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies, and the other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies. The first method is far more difficult." - C.A.R. Hoare
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Dominic Burford wrote: Over the course of the next 12 months the entire development team left (including myself)
Which is the ultimate "no." 
Dominic Burford wrote: and eventually he was fired.
While it's on their heads, its unfortunate, because really everyone ends up paying the cost, even if you did move on to a better (or at least equivalent) job. Hopefully better, by the sound of what was going on where you were!
Marc
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I would like to think the people involved in making their decisions learnt some valuable lessons. Life can be tough and unforgiving, and there is no short-cut towards experience and knowledge. People need to make mistakes so they can learn
"There are two ways of constructing a software design: One way is to make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies, and the other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies. The first method is far more difficult." - C.A.R. Hoare
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Marc Clifton wrote: The ability to say, and the frequent use of, the word NO
I prefer the "Yes, but..." approach, followed by a list of things that paints the business leader into making the "No" decision, or extending the timeline and budget by 200%.
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Vark111 wrote: followed by a list of things that paints the business leader into making the "No" decision
plus, as I've learned, suggesting a couple alternative paths that try to meet the issues at least half way. 
Marc
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Some are born as a senior, most however as unfortunate as it is will never become one...
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gstolarov wrote: Some are born as a senior, most however as unfortunate as it is will never become one...
I disagree. At least in this field, we're all born junior, and certainly in my experience (self-taught, no degree, no formal schooling) the reason I'm recognized as senior is because of my demonstrable accomplishments -- I've never met anyone that had senior qualifications that was actually in a junior position. Well, maybe because the company has become gentrified, but those people have always found other work that recognizes their talents (me included in that situation once, many many years ago -- really it was the defining moment of when I stopped being junior and, while not quite senior at that time, was definitely on that path from that moment on. And heck, with all the technology changes going on every day, there's a lot of things I can point at and say, yeah, I'm junior in that, but the difference is, I have years of experience that make me senior at how to learn something new.)
Marc
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A senior developer knows what NOT to do.
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Major content providers object to Brave Software's business model; Brave counters it's 'not the enemy' Ad Blocking deemed illegal?
Edit: fixed url
modified 7-Apr-16 20:30pm.
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You just won the Major Link Fail Of The Day Award!
What do you get when you cross a joke with a rhetorical question?
The metaphorical solid rear-end expulsions have impacted the metaphorical motorized bladed rotating air movement mechanism.
Do questions with multiple question marks annoy you???
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Eh. That link was a more useful article. 
Fixed
TTFN - Kent
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Although Apple’s Swift language might be open source now, the last place you’d expect to see it is on Android. But according to some sources, Google is considering making Swift a “first class” language for the iPhone’s biggest rival. That way they can be sued by both Oracle AND Apple!
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Be hard to sue someone for using Open Source Software, as long as they keep to the license.
I suspect someone will port it to Windows too at some point.
"If you don't fail at least 90 percent of the time, you're not aiming high enough."
Alan Kay.
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It they bypass Dalvik/ART altogether, bring it on. As it stands now, Java is a death by a thousand cuts.
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This new and stable version of Android Studio has fast build speeds and a fast emulator with support for the latest Android version and Google Play Services. Now with added "Not Eclipse" for your coding pleasure
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Microsoft has partnered with HackerRank to bring code snippets right into its Bing search results pages — and as an added twist, you can also edit and execute this code right on those pages, too. But the people who would benefit most don't know how to search
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I think we will need a "lmbtfy" web for the "gimme codezzz plzzz" 
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Microsoft, like Google and Mozilla, wants to hasten the transition away from Flash to a more modern, standards based web, and so plans to make a big change to Edge in the forthcoming Anniversary Update to Windows 10. In related news, there's probably a new 0-day Flash bug going around
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Analyzing a project’s characteristics and constraints early helps the team and ultimately leads to improved agile project success and business-IT alignment. Take the time on the front end of your software development process. It is always time well spent. Should we even call it agile anymore?
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Yes, we should because Agile is a buzzword management knows.
Seriously, the author is correct. Brownfield projects are tough to be agile because it takes a lot of time to figure out what you're working with and then creating a candidate architecture from those findings. Once you figure things out, then you can implement some agile principles.
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Researchers from MIT have used a new 3D-printing method that works with both solids and liquids to create a six-legged, hydraulically-powered robot. Frickin' lasers will still need to be added after, of course
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Astronomers have stumbled upon a supermassive black hole in an unexpected corner of the Universe, implying these galactic monsters are much more common than once thought, a study said Wednesday. They're inside the house!
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When was the last time you needed to Google something and Google wasn’t there? Human sacrifice and dark utterances in the shadows?
Cthulhu fhtagn!
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