Software development as "creative problem solving" - and me.

The following is inspired by multiple interviews with actors and comedians. - Yes, I find software development inspiration in unusual places.

A motivated person who wants to make it in the 'arts' will typically have to do many things by and for themselves.

This means being a creative problem solver.

Want to put on a show but don't have a stage, set, or costumes? - Work something out!

Want to make a film but only have a tiny budget? - Get creative!

Want to try something entirely new and different that no one has thought about before and that everyone says is impossible? - Find a solution! Help others see your vision!

These are also the aspects of software development that I love best.

While software can do "anything", such a broad set of options is rarely helpful. Constraints are real, and they drive innovation and creativity. The constraints often lead to discovering that something isn't as impossible as originally thought.

There may be a need for people to build software that is the same as (or a tiny deviation from) what already exists, but I don't want to do that.
Not because it's beneath me but because it doesn't excite me.

I've previously particularly enjoyed projects along the lines of:

"We need it to do X but can't use [the only way anyone has ever done X before]."

or

"We only have 5 weeks to build [seemingly large and complex series of connected software], or we miss out on a massive opportunity for the business."

or

"We want it to do Y, but as no one has ever done that, we don't know if it's possible and can't (yet) see how to do it."

There are two ways such projects can be even more satisfying (to me):

1. When I get to see and hear how the created solution helps people and improves their lives. Even if only in a small way. 
2. When I'm creating something that helps improve things for other software developers. This is because improvements for them are multiplied into more, higher quality software that is beneficial (or even "just" less frustrating) to many more people.

This is, possibly, why I've recently refound an enthusiasm for the possibilities that come from creating software.

2024 wasn't a great year for me. I left what was initially a very exciting project as a team was formed around the work I'd started. As I felt the project moving backwards, it became frustrating and unproductive, and so I stepped away, wondering if this was even an industry I wanted to stay in.

Side note. Many months later, a simpler version of the project was launched, which received much acclaim and positive reactions. Hopefully it will go on to be very helpful to a lot of developers, but I can't talk about it in any detail.

I planned to take some time off and reassess my career plans.

That's not how it played out, as I sustained a physical injury that meant I had six months where all I could do was sit (literally) and watch the world (and work) go by.

It was like a miniature version of the COVID-19 lockdowns, but just for me.

Upcoming plans were cancelled. These included career goals, planned jobs, and events I'd been looking forward to for months (and even years in one case.) It was not a happy time.

At the start of 2025, when once again mobile and recovering well, I determined to forget the past year and try and find not only paid work (because bills don't stop when people do) but something that would excite me again. A way to use my creative problem-solving skills that could help other developers improve the overall quality levels of the software in the world.

As my experience is with native (rather than web) technologies and because I've spent a lot of time over the last few years thinking about how it can be easier and more productive to work with XAML, I've been thinking about that once again. As I refine what I would have previously thought was "too big an idea for me", I also look forward to sharing more about that soon.

Specific or vague answers to specific and vague questions

If the question is vague, is a specific or vague answer more helpful?

Actually, is either helpful?
Would clarifying the question (or scoping it) be a better response?

If the question is specific, a specific answer can be helpful, but a vague answer may help see the broader picture or help expand the view of the question.

Both can help or be useful in different contexts.

This feels like the opposite to the way to treat data. 

With data, we want to try and accept a broad range of options and return something specific or at least consistently formatted.

With questions, we want the question to be narrow (if not specific) and a potentially broad range of answers.

Now, how do I stop bringing all my thoughts back to software development? Or, more specifically, do I need to consider whether this matters?

When everyone's working together for the collective good

"Why do you care? You're leaving at the end of the week."

I've been reading, the excellent, Turn the Ship Around by L. David Marquet.

It's made me reflect on two work-related scenarios:

The first is where the above quote comes from. It was after the weekly developer-team meeting and two days before I left the company. In the meeting, I advocated for a change to a process that I thought would improve the time and effort required. I wouldn't be around to see the benefit, but everyone else would. That a colleague asked me why I cared when I'd be leaving confirmed that I wasn't a good fit for the company I was soon to leave. I wonder how many people in this world are like this colleague. I hope it's only a few. I fear it's a majority.

The second scenario is more current. I'm being passively-aggressively encouraged to step away from an open-source project I've been contributing to for several years. A change of leadership and priorities (that are no longer public) clash with my desire to understand why decisions are being made and being open about what is happening in an open-source project. Not wanting to stay where I'm not wanted, I'm thinking about where to best focus my time and attention next. But I'm also concerned about what I'm leaving behind. Before I go, I want to ensure I'm leaving it in the best possible state, and that means continuing to strive for improvements. I'm still trying to work out how to do this in the best possible way and am open to suggestions.

I want to make things better. In addition to the products I work on, I desire to make the places I work, the projects I work on, and the processes I use to make things better.

Is this misguided? I hope not.

Is this all a case of me caring too much? If so, how much is too much?

What's it like when everyone on the team is working to make not just a great product but improve the process as well? - If you have experience of this, I'd love to hear about it.

Is your organization looking for an experienced .NET & Windows developer who isn't afraid to speak up and improve processes?  I might be a good fit. I'd love to hear from you too. 😉

Where's the financial value in the code I write?

tldr: this is very self-reflective and likely has no value to you. I won't be offended if you don't read further.


I don't get it.
Why are software developers paid so much? Especially when so much software is so bad?
How/Why have people paid me to write code in the past?
How can I get someone to do so again?
Especially when I write so much code for free at the moment?

💰❓

I've been thinking about money and getting paid for writing code.
This isn't meant as a dig at anyone. I'm just thinking about myself.
In part, this is because I don't have a job (or any paid work at the moment.)
Another part of this is that I haven't earned any money in the last six months.
And the final part is that I know I can't keep not earning money forever.

It might seem obvious that I should just get a job.
However, due to my family situation, I can only work remotely and part-time.

I also don't know what I want to do.
Some of the things I've worked on in the past aren't as appealing anymore. Or things that people are as interested in.

The idea of "writing code to earn money" VS "earning money to write code" has been playing on my mind. Ideally, I'd like to be in a place where I can write the code I want and still earn money. Having spoken with other people, that I've been in this position before is an exception and I may need to acknowledge this past privilege and be more realistic in the future.

I'm not sure:
- Does what I do provide value? To whom?
- What (and how much) value does what I'm capable of doing provide?
- How do you put a price on something?
- Who sets market rates? What are they based on?
- What do I want to do?

I still have some time before I have to be earning some money but I'd rather not get to the point where I'm only earning enough to get by each month.

If you've got this far and happen to have something I might be well suited to and you'd be willing to pay for, please get in touch.