---
title: "The Balanced Developer"
date: 2011-10-31T00:00:00+00:00
draft: false
canonical_url: https://www.viget.com/articles/the-balanced-developer/
---

In preparation for a recent team offsite, I spent some time thinking
about what I hold dear as a software developer. One idea I kept coming
back to is the notion of *balance.* I see balance manifesting itself
several ways in the work of a successful developer, some of which
follow.

## Speed Versus Quality

The most obvious example is the balance of development speed and
quality. When building software, it's never a good idea to write code as
fast as possible without any attention toward maintainability, just as
it's never a good idea to spend such an inordinate amount of time
designing and tweaking your software that it never ships to customers.
The balanced developer focuses on delivering value both immediately
*and* through the life of the software.

## Shiny Versus Proven

When it comes to selecting tools and technologies, again, balance is
key. An unbalanced developer selects technologies simply because they're
new and exciting, or rejects them simply because they're unknown and
unproven. A balanced developer evaluates new technologies on their own
merits, weighing gains in functionality against the inherent risks.

## Doing Versus Sharing

If you've ever looked at someone's code after hearing them speak at a
conference, you know that there's not necessarily a correlation between
someone's ability to speak about technology and their ability to create
it. At the opposite end of the spectrum, there's the quiet fellow who
sits in your company's basement, writing fast, elegant code that no one
ever notices. The balanced developer understands that doing work and
sharing work are most effective in combination.

## That Said...

To hijack an old saying, you should strive for balance in all things,
including balance itself. Falling perfectly in the middle of every pair
of tradeoffs would be, frankly, *unbalanced*. Everyone has their strong
opinions, and that's a good thing, provided it's balanced out with a
healthy dose of pragmatism.
