Yeah that's an excellent article. Very few companies get it right, but when they do they've got their programmers for life. Of course there can be a bit of a downside... firstly you do need good management to understand programmers AND customer requirements, quite a rare breed, and also the programmers can end up feeling so empowered in their little bubble that they become arrogant and self righteous - a little more than a glimmer of this can be seen at microsoft.

Funny, that's pretty much what I said.  He really nails it this time.  Makes up for anything else he's ever said. ;)

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Joel is smoking crack.

I don't know where these wonderful companies are that are going to give me my own office, massage chairs and super powered computers.  I don't know where the managers are that think I deserve or will even work better if I have those things.  My job has often included multi-tasking (from building machines to giving tech support to an end user.)  I'm more specialized than I was, but even now my direct supervisor who still writes code also has to play server admin even though we have a full operations department.

I am a brick layer.  I am a cog in the system.  I may be a smart brick layer or a smart cog, but i'm not the center of the universe.  Of course, I don't work for a software company.  Software is merely a necessary evil, an expense for the companys' real product.  But even when I did work for a software company, developers were just grunts.

OF COURSE, programmers would say this is how it should be.  But are any non-programmers really listening?

Joel, I'm sure your pipe dream is a beautiful place, but I don't think I'll ever get to live there or even visit.

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