Changing the World

Czy kiedykolwiek zastanawialiście się jaki jest sens tworzenia oprogramowania? Po co to robimy? Dla kogo? W jakim celu? Ja osobiście do 2001 roku, nie. Od kiedy byłem w zerówce chciałem zostać informatykiem, wiedziałem co chcę i do czego dążę. I jak już dostałem się na studia informatyczne, zaczęły się pytania, na które nie mogłem znaleźć odpowiedzi.

W tamtym okresie pracowałem w małej, prężnie rozwijającej się firmie informatycznej, która tworzyła oprogramowanie dla różnych ministerstw. Przez co tym bardziej nie mogłem znaleźć odpowiedzi na pytania które zadałem na początku. W końcu oprogramowanie, które umożliwia przeszukiwanie donosów nie należy do rzeczy, które chcielibyśmy by istniały.

Także od tego samego roku, zacząłem poszukiwanie magazynów które są dostępne na rynku polskim a treścią nie odbiegają od moich zainteresowań informatycznych. To właśnie wtedy uzależniłem się od magazynu ComputerWorld i już nie istniejącego Software Development Magazine. Niestety, właśnie w SD Magazine (wielka szkoda, że już nie istnieje) natrafiłem na artykuł, który całkowicie odsunął moje obiekcje.

Artykuł ten chciałem opublikować już od początku prowadzenia bloga, jednakże nie mogłem go nigdzie znaleźć w Internecie, w szczególności iż jest on jednym z niewielu, które nie zostały przeniesione w wersje elektroniczne Dr. Dobbs – aktualnego właściciela SD Magazine. Zanim więc przekopałem się przez swoje archiwum magazynów, minęły trzy miesiące.

Teraz zachęcam wszystkich do lektury, oraz do komentowania tekstu – artykuł po angielsku. Mam nadzieję, że pomoże on znaleźć sens tworzenia oprogramowania wszystkim tym, którzy go poszukują. Ja osobiście wracam do niego pamięcią za każdym razem gdy pytania do mnie powracają.

Changing the World

In which one overworked IT manager dreams of the day her efforts are recognized, and realizes the importance of truly making a difference – one line of code at a time.

Within the confines of four institutional white walls, the day drags on. I fix my eyes on a framed print entitled Vision and search for purpose. But the view is unfocused-an occupational hazard from continually staring at small print on a glowing CRT. If plants give off oxygen, stacks of project documents must emit carbon dioxide, It has something to do with the chemical process used in synthesizing what was formerly a living thing. Maybe we programmers are like pulp, with memories of a life outside in the sunshine, stretching our limbs without confining offices or ergonomic upholstered chairs.

Just as I have a deep sigh, I hear the unmistakable “ding" of an incoming e-mail. I’m torn between apathy and boredom. Will this crisis be more interesting than the one I’m currently working? on? Will it be merely another linguistic lashing for some project detail I neglected to glean from my crystal technology ball? Will I have to stroke an ego or placate a temper? Heck … sometimes the Teflon coating on the frying pan I’m in gives me a rash, but the colourful flames are mesmerizing nonetheless. I open the e-mail.

My heart goes into momentary arrhythmia: It’s from the county manager, addressed to all MIS staff. My mind races to consider the possibilities, but only two come immediately to mind: We’ve done something terribly wrong, or due to a budget crisis, our services are no longer needed—our job functions are being outsourced to technology gurus from India via satellite. Yes, they have heavy accents, but so do we. They’ll catch on to “y’all” and regional phrases like “I might would” soon enough. No, they don’t pay county taxes, but they aren’t drains on the local economy either. The sheriff’s department never has to respond to one of those silly security system alerts for them.

Without further speculation – which might have yielded the possibilities of a pay or benefit cut or city/county/state government merger or overhaul – I begin reading:

Last night, at 7:46 p.m., the phone rang in E-911 Communications. An E-911 staff member answered the call, and the callers identity and physical location displayed on the computer screen. It was a 29-year-old woman from the eastern part of the county in hysterics about her 13-month-old child who appeared not to be breathing.

A feeling of impending doom washes over me.

The emergency dispatcher contacted the rescue squad displayed on the screen for the caller’s area of the county, providing driving directions based on the county graphical information system coordinates. Meanwhile, she kept the caller on the phone, having the mother check the child for airway obstructions. When the county rescue squad arrived on the scene, the baby was blue.

Why would the county manager be sending this to the MIS department? Were we responsible for a child’s death? Did our E-911 system display the wrong squad to dispatch? was the address incorrect, causing a delay? Things are quieter in the hall; I’m not the only one digesting this e-mail.

I’m taking the time to write because I have four children myself and my heart goes out to a parent facing a situation like that. It’s the nightmare you hope you never experience. Yet, if you do, you hope and pray you have the support from your county. while you may never have given thought to where the money comes from to provide services like emergency response, you have faith that when you dial 911 someone will respond quickly to help.

Thirteen-month-old Caitlyn Joyner is alive today because of the dedication of county staff including you. Without the network infrastructure workstations, interface with the phone system, mapping and the software to bring it all together, the county couldn’t offer such timely assistance during crises like this.

When the worst flood in 100 years divided our county with a wall of water, you wrote the programs to track citizens’ needs and issue funds for emergency assistance. Your programs helped us identify possible flood victims with special needs, so we could help those who couldn’t help themselves.

When the world is frightened by everything from SARS to smallpox, your technology helps Public Health staff track cases and protect the public.

And when you work on projects that seem unpopular (like tax assessment or collection), and far removed from the lifesaving events I have described, remember that ore doesn’t happen without the other.

It’s easy for our purpose to be lost in the everyday slush pile of the working world. If we aren’t careful, we can lose the connection between what we do and why we do it. Perhaps the people we serve don’t take the time to appreciate the value of county government, but you can believe that Caitlyn Joyner’s parents do tonight. Even if no one ever takes the time to say "thank you,” we have to keep doing what we’re doing, simply because it’s right. Technology is the axle on which all county operations turn.

My eyes fix on the Vision print directly in front of me: why haven’t I ever noticed its colours before?

Epilogue

OK, maybe I have a vivid imagination, but you can bet that crises like fictional Caitlyn Joyner’s are regular occurrences. Lives do hinge on the minutes saved by more efficient programming and the quality assurance practices of MIS staff. Reality isn’t so different from fiction – it’s just less romantic and generally goes unheralded. The truth, however, is that software developers have a direct impact on the bottom line – the lifeline, that is. Whether or not we ever receive an e-mail acknowledging those efforts doesn’t diminish our contribution – or our responsibility – to change the world one line of code at a time.

Copyright by Donna Davis dla CMP United Business Media; Software Development Magazine; March 2004 Vol. 12, No. 3; Aktualnie Dr. Dobb’s. URL do niepełnego artykułu. Mam nadzieję, że publikując ten artykuł nie złamałem, żadnych praw autorskich.