…then Harold Shipman would look like a reasonably nice chap… The attitudes of many web developers and designers are frankly quite scary. The web design game’s quality and value is constantly undermined from people outside the industry, but the disregard from within the industry is—although admittedly less frequent—a lot more unforgivable.
Here is a little tongue-in-cheek post taking some of the things an offending designer/developer might say, but from the lips of a surgeon. After all, I do love a good analogy.
| Web designer | Surgeon | Lesson |
|---|---|---|
| Web designer | Surgeon | Lesson |
| I validate all my code. | I make sure my instruments are clean. | Some things are just a given. Proper code isn’t anything to show off about, it’s just a standard part of a decent service. You’d be worried if a surgeon made a point that his tools were sterile, it’s just something you’d expect. |
| I’ve not done this before, but I’ll give it a go. | I’m usually a rectal surgeon, but I’ll give neurosurgery a shot. | If you can’t do something, don’t! You wouldn’t want a surgeon trying unfamiliar practices on you, especially if you’re paying. Why would you charge a client to experiment new things on their site? |
| The code’s not the best it could be as I was pressed for time. | I was in a rush, so I bodged the operation. | Lack of time is no excuse for poor code. I commented on this one before. |
| This won’t work in IE6, it’s too old to support. | Madam, you’re quite old, I don’t think I’m going to do this operation. | You may not like IE6, but it’s unavoidable. You need to learn how to work with, and then do so. |
| I’ve just got a copy of Dreamweaver and I want to start web design. | I found some old scalpels—got any ailments I can tend to? | Being a developer is more than owning the right tools—it’s about years of hard work and education (formal or otherwise). |
If you can think of any more, please feel free to add them in the comments. And this is just a light-hearted, jokey post. I’m not comparing the importance and responsibility of surgery with that of web design… honest.
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Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 in Business, Web Development.
Adam said on 17 February, 2010 at 11:40 pm
Haha, nice analogy!
Here’s my one:
Web designer:
I could have created an awesome design for them, but the client chose the worst out of my six concepts and then suggested changes to it that made it even worse!
Surgeon:
I could have done a good job of the operation, but the patient chose the worst tools they could see in the room for me to use and then told me what to do during surgery.
Lesson:
Never give a client ANY ‘bad’ concepts, just choose two or three good ones (that you would be happy adding to your portfolio) to show them.
Also, even though the client ultimately has the final say, try not to let them take your designs in a bad direction, if they offer ‘bad’ suggestions, doesn’t always mean you have to go along with these, sometimes you will just need to explain to them why that idea is bad and remember to subtly remind them that you are the designer and they are paying you as a professional to create a good design for them.
Samuel Turner said on 18 February, 2010 at 9:11 am
Very interesting read Harry, it’s been a while since we spoke! I hadn’t really thought about it in this way before but I totally agree.
In my opinion, the only time you should be experimenting is if you’re building a site for someone who expects it, if you’re pushing the boundaries of what is known and developing something new, then you’re going to have to experiment. BUT, in this case the experiment shouldn’t be the finished article. If a client wants you to develop something brand new and unseen before, they have to expect a long period of trials and testing.
suBi said on 18 February, 2010 at 9:32 am
somewhat funny, somewhat satirical… but valid points… now only if web designers got paid as much as surgeons :)
MaFt said on 18 February, 2010 at 6:23 pm
“Madam, you’re quite old, I don’t think I’m going to do this operation.”
That’s actually a valid reason for not operating – if it will cause more harm than good (i.e. the risks are too high). Therefore I’m sticking with your surgeon’s analogy and ignoring IE6 :D
euler said on 19 February, 2010 at 2:59 am
Many great points here. Very insightful indeed.
I can see your point with IE 6 but the analogy can be easily altered to show a minor flaw in your argument. Instead of a surgeon, think of an auto mechanic. It’s not practical for even a skilled auto mechanic understand how to work with an older auto. For that you go to an expert.
Coding for IE 6, generally speaking, is something that expert developers should know how to do. However, that being said, I wouldn’t be so hasty to expect every web developer to know how to code for IE 6. It’s often time consuming and promotes the continued use of an out-dated and poor browser that ignores web standards.
Though it’s a matter of philosophy, a wise developer will go the extra mile and deal with IE 6. If not, the client that looks bad in the end, not the developer.
Jordi said on 19 February, 2010 at 6:23 am
“Hi Mr Surgeon, I need an open chest Heart transplant. My budget is $300 and I need it done for next week. Oh and please, could you please fix my notebook because I think it got a virus …”
:-)
Hen Asraf said on 19 February, 2010 at 9:01 am
Great article Harry, definitely some valid points there :)