Bob news

[SupremeSpod]

Alas, I must refer you to my previous answer. Although if you can actually convincingly Photoshop the text "can you please write 'Contractor UK' in marker pen across your forehead and post a picture of that?" into the image above I will consider your request again. Also, there may be a job as a "Senior UX Designer" in it for you - being able to use Photoshop would put you one step above the ones that can only use Paint.

Right, need to press on now. Have a good day all.

A bird who thinks she knows everything apart from the fact that she doesn't. Whatever next?

Btw "Gentile", I only have need of one belt, to hold my trousers up.

[original PM]

Totally. We do all that, plus we produce code. Never seen a project without a developer yet. Though I think I've seen every role other than "end user" missed out depending on the project. The worst are those terrible Golgafrinchams that are starting to emerge that call themselves "User Interface Designers" or "UX Designers". That generally just means "failed developer, but I know how to use Paint".

when releasing a new system to 1000+ users in 800+ different locations where the users have limited IT skills at best means a UI design can be the difference between abject failure and run away success.

Never forget who you are developing the system for

Trust me

[Sysman]

I try to cook my own stuff and bring it in, but there's not always time. One of the best places for grub I worked was way out in the sticks, with a little village just up the road that had a total of two shops that you could go to for lunch. They did the best steak casserole and tatties I've ever tasted, though: they made it fresh the night before, and put lunch-sized portions in little microwavable tubs for all the farmworkers from round about to buy the next day. Delicious.

I have tried making my own grub to take to work but this normally lasts no longer than a week.

At one place it was 5 miles to the nearest shop so we'd hit the greasy spoon caff there. A different dish every day, good filling stuff for farmworkers, and with a cup of tea it came to something like 3 quid. It gave you a proper lunch break, the likes of which I hadn't enjoyed in years.

More recently I've come across a military canteen which is 3 courses, and seconds are included in the price. Public welcome but don't get the subsidised price that the squaddies do (ahem except when that nice young blonde lass serves me )

[Sysman]

In the mid 90s in London, it was often a few pints at lunch. Times have changed.

A few pints at lunchtime were a regular thing in the 70s/80s too. After work drinks were frequent as well.

A couple of interviews for permie jobs included a session in the pub, ostensibly to make sure you'd "fit in", but in reality was probably to find out if you could solve problems and code when ratted.

It quite pissed me off when I was trying to save for my first house that there was so much pressure to go to the pub.

Oh, the habit of offering cigarettes to everyone in your group got up my nose too. You ended up smoking far more than you wanted to and if you didn't watch out you'd see the contents of your own packet decimated while only having a couple yourself.

[MyUserName]

Oh, the habit of offering cigarettes to everyone in your group got up my nose too. You ended up smoking far more than you wanted to and if you didn't watch out you'd see the contents of your own packet decimated while only having a couple yourself.

But doesn't that balance out when everyone else offers you theirs?

[Gentile]

when releasing a new system to 1000+ users in 800+ different locations where the users have limited IT skills at best means a UI design can be the difference between abject failure and run away success.

Never forget who you are developing the system for

Trust me

I don't need to "trust you", I've got over 40 successful projects of all sizes of my own to draw experience from. And I never do forget who I'm developing the solutions I build for: I'm developing them for the actual end users, and not some Golgafrincham that just about knows how to use Paint, but not much else.

It's important that an actual meaningful analysis gets done by someone. But all too many people that call themselves "Business Analysts" or "UX Designers" unfortunately don't appear to 'analyse' or 'design' anything - instead they leap straight into describing one naive solution to a poorly-understood problem without ever defining the problem itself first.

Provided an actual meaningful analysis has been done, having ideas about what to build to solve a particular problem is the easy part. Making those ideas work in practice is the hard part that takes skill.

[Gentile]

A bird who thinks she knows everything apart from the fact that she doesn't. Whatever next?

Btw "Gentile", I only have need of one belt, to hold my trousers up.

You seem to have a bit of a bee in your bonnet about women, Spod. Is that the reason you need to contract - keep getting fired for misogyny?

Oh, and I don't even need one belt - my clothes fit.

[EternalOptimist]

But someone has to make the decisions. And therein lies the rub.

As a developer, I like to liase directly with the key users, and make all the design decisions myself.
Sometimes the boss takes over and you end up building a disaster zone.


Which takes me neatly to my current project. The MD has put an analist between me and the users.

On the detail screen for the main record, he insisted upon the same field being there twice, with different lables. I sh!t you not

he's a nice guy, but so far out of his depth he has little fish swimming around him with fishing rods on their 'eads

[SupremeSpod]

You seem to have a bit of a bee in your bonnet about women, Spod. Is that the reason you need to contract - keep getting fired for misogyny?

Oh, and I don't even need one belt - my clothes fit.

Something else you're clueless about, I'm a permy. Nice try though.

[Sysman]

But doesn't that balance out when everyone else offers you theirs?

It mostly did but sometimes you got caught out badly. My initial solution was to switch to "foul tasting foreign brands" which everyone else would turn down.

It's a phenomenon I've only come across in the UK. Elsewhere it was easier to cut down to the point where giving up completely was not such a pain.