Comments on: What makes a ‘Rockstar’ Developer?

By: Slavi

Slavi — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:07:58 +0000

Are you talking about me ?

I’d add self starters and willingness to make mistakes.

Slavi

By: Ujjwal Trivedi

Ujjwal Trivedi — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 19:21:21 +0000

Excellent post!!

“They care more about frameworks than plumbing.” nails it… what differentiates a rockstar developer is is able to envision and think holistically.

By: Royston Olivera

Royston Olivera — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 05:35:14 +0000

nice post …. agree to most of it

and yes a rockstar should not be uncomfortable with the question in point 7 …. coz his answer lies in point 9

By: Michael Krotscheck

Michael Krotscheck — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 00:51:57 +0000

A pity you won’t be back, Dave, because fact is we agree on pretty much everything you’ve said- in fact this entire post is about the fictitious “rockstar” developer and what qualities you really should be looking for when hiring development talent. I package the categories a little bit differently than you do, but if you cut away the semantics we’re both taking (mostly) the same position.

By: Dave

Dave — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 00:37:18 +0000

I saw your blog link on another site, just thought I’d take a peek. First thing is about hiring a “rock star”. I won’t be back.

Some people think that the “rock star” term is really cool. I seem to see it a lot in the Flex/RIA world these days. Seems to be mostly recruiters who don’t have a clue what they’re looking for. I really think it’s sad when supposedly knowledgeable technical people start using it. Not only does it mean you think one person will save your project or organization, but, it’s really simplistic and extremely naive concept.

Whenever I see someone who claim to be, or has a desire to be, or think they’re looking for this “being”, it mostly means you need to steer clear of them. And, a “rock star” doesn’t make your project. Unfortunately, it takes good practices, knowlege, experience, and, dedication.

These are rarely found in a “rock star” developer, sir.

By: Andrea Hill

Andrea Hill — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 21:45:41 +0000

I may understand: you’re talking about a tech-driven business proposition? Otherwise, I think a business model doesn’t necessarily need to be tied to a particular technology, and in fact, it probably shouldn’t be.

By: Michael Krotscheck

Michael Krotscheck — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 21:12:25 +0000

If the business was in the prototyping/exploration phase I would agree that evaluating pros and cons is critical, however I feel that it’s better to go to the community to participate in that kind of a discourse. Technical exploration is best done either in the Lab or by hobbyists, and if you already have a business model you want to pursue the last thing you want is someone who doesn’t really know how to get there.

By: Andrea Hill

Andrea Hill — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 04:54:20 +0000

#7 made me laugh, and #8 made me think. Often I think we want developers who know ASP, JSP, PHP, MooTools, AS3 and XHTML because we don’t really know WHAT we want. if it’s a new endeavor, that may be a good thing: you want someone who’s dabbled in a few different things and can tell you what the relative pros and cons are. If it’s an existing project that you need someone to own and optimize, then of course it doesn’t matter what other skills he has.