Hackers and Architects

In an interesting entry, the question of whether hacker-type developers have a place in the modern-day IT field. That is, do hacker-type developers add any real business value in a business world? If not, who does in regards to producing software? Is the more standardized architect-type developer better suited for working on anything that isn't a hobby? The argument for not being able to hire the hacker-type onto a formal IT development team is well-grounded in some respects. However, the hacker-type developer wasn't just given that title for no reason. Any given hacker-type developer most likely earned the title through many years of trying things that were unheard of at the time. Believe it or not, organizations that produce anything but the most trivial software need the hacker-type developer as well as the architect-type developer.

The hacker-developer type tends to be experimental by nature. They are willing to go beyond the norm in order to realize a solution. More often than not, the hacker-type developer can get around extremely complex problems in a relatively short amount of time. I like to think that this is because they are able to step outside the standards imposed on the project at hand to find the necessary solution. It is this ability of the hacker-type developer that enables development teams to determine the feasibility of a problem without spending a year developing just to realized it can't be solved within the constraints imposed on the project.

At the other end of the development team we have the architect-type developer who is focused on standards-based development. But they aren't only concerned with standards, they also want to ensure that an elegant loosely-coupled, component-based, interface-conforming system is produced. This is obviously necessary within any serious IT organization. The architect-type developer often has a strong view of the implications of the development team's actions and implementations of problems.

In the field of software development, it seems that these two are closely related but are also different enough stereotypes that should easily be able to collaborate with one another. Not only should it be easy but I think it should also be a requirement. The hacker-type and the architect-type are codependent on one another even if neither wants to admit the fact. Hackers need discipline when it comes to sticking to standards and interface conformance. Architects can easily oversee subtle design flaws that will a particular implementation strategy impossible. Hackers who have a keen eye for this type of thing can help here. Hackers and architects and how they are codependent on one another is just a small slice of the software development ecosystem.