One of the directives I have for Innovad this year is to make us a ton faster at what we do at the same time as being efficient and good. For a programming and design/consulting house, I’m not sure that is possible, but I am trying. The one thing that strikes me as I try to make this happen is the dichotomy between speed and efficiency, or at least speed and quality.
Speed
In the world of writing code, in general, programmers are not known for their quickness. However, we at Innovad are getting more and more requests for fast turn around. It is a normal part of the day for one client or another to call up, in a panic, asking for this project to be completed in a day or two. What are you to do with that? Your initial reaction is to say “sorry, can’t be done”. Then you put yourself in their shoes. For whatever reason, they have found themselves in the position of needing code done for one of their clients. I would hate to be in that spot and I’m sure they do as well. So, if we can eliminate a certain amount of stress from them, then we’ve done our jobs. The other side of the coin is perpetuating that behavior. The more times you come through for your clients the more times they will come to you in a panic. I’m still not sure if this is a good thing or not.
Quality
Which leads me to the quality part. Speed and quality have typically been arch rivals. The old adage used to be that you couldn’t have something well written and done quickly. The two simply did not go together. As I have begun to learn the limits of my team and expanded my team I am realizing that’s not always necessarily the case. You have to take a look at the project individually and see if it it, indeed, possible. What I am trying to say is, it is possible to have control code written quickly and with a level of quality as long as your team runs efficiently and works together well.
If you are a one-man shop or you work you team as little individual shops, then your speed and quality are going to be fighting each other. If you work your team as a team and let each programmer shine in the areas they are strongest you can create good, quality code faster than you may think possible.
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. Have a great week.
About Author
Tim Albright
Tim Albright is the founder of AVNation and is the driving force behind the AVNation network. He carries the InfoComm CTS, a B.S. from Greenville College and is pursuing an M.S. in Mass Communications from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. When not steering the AVNation ship, Tim has spent his career designing systems for churches both large and small, Fortune 500 companies, and education facilities.
