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content/elsewhere/the-balanced-developer/index.md

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+---
+title: "The Balanced Developer"
+date: 2011-10-31T00:00:00+00:00
+draft: false
+needs_review: true
+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.