Re:Hire characters, not skill sets. My most important questi...
by partycoder on Thursday April 28, 2016 @04:53PM
(#11591814)
Not really a personality thing. The person wasn't an engineer. But was given a chance because of his passion. Very much like what the article encourages.
Re:Hire characters, not skill sets. My most important questi...
by ArkyBeagle on Thursday April 28, 2016 @09:13AM
(#11588519)
There is nothing organically wrong with cowboy coding, especially if you're trying to find your footing with a new thing. But it's not sufficient, and probably not necessary.
In your anecdote though, I'm reading that the er, rockstar developer had enough skills to get things done, but not the personality to do things The Right Way. That is a personality thing, I think, with personality traits like attention to detail and quality and such. Those are not linked to skill level or technology; maybe with experience (i.e. being on the receiving end of those bugs and issues), but even that is not necessary IMO, because there's plenty of smart people out there to tell people to do, for example, unit testing, and why.
The wrong personality scoffs at that stuff and goes cowboy coding like the person in your anecdote.