The Value of Thinking Small
Coding class emphasized building the next big app
When I earned my full-stack certificate our instructors wrapped up every group project presentation with mock awards for best use of a SPA, most disruptive app, etc. The categories were designed to push us as developers to try bigger, better solutions, which made sense in a learning environment. But knowing what I know now, I think the teaching team should’ve occasionally recognized “best minutiae management.”
When you think about it, the day-to-day details are important in every aspect of life. There’s no glory in filling potholes, but if roads fall apart nobody goes anywhere. The dishwasher is never summoned to the dining room after a fabulous meal — diners call for the chef. But without clean plates and utensils, the most amazing four-course dinner ever prepared would never make it off the stove. In the development world, the fastest, most responsive e-commerce website built might seem poised to attract thousands of users. But if that same site is missing a simple SSL certificate, savvy users will steer clear of its shopping cart.
Day-to-day developing often depends more on thinking small
As a junior developer, I never believed I’d be building industry-disrupting apps right out of the gate. But as I wrap up year two of building projects on my own site and maintaining my company’s website, intranet and blog, it’s clear to me that attention to detail, creative problem solving, and knowing where to find answers — however seemingly insignificant the questions — are invaluable developer skills. I’ve used them to build my own apps and to solve functionality and usability conundrums at work.
Dev success isn’t exclusive to Fast Company cover stories
My development work to date won’t change lives. But I like knowing my visitors see a comforting lock next to the URL that tells them my site is secure. At work I’m confident our registration forms are submitted complete thanks to a javascript tweak requiring users to choose their state rather than default to the dropdown placeholder value. And because I use short words and phrases written from a UX perspective, my visitors know what to expect when they click buttons and links.
Don’t get me wrong. From my twenty-first century vantage point I understand the necessity of big ideas. But as a not-so-nascent developer, I also understand the underrated value of thinking small.