The Seven Archetypal Software Projects

Throughout any given software developer’s career, I think he or she is bound to run into a few archetypal projects. Some are good projects to have experienced, others not so much. Either way, I find these are the projects that offer up the biggest smack-in-the-face lessons.

I also find that the order I’ve laid out below tends to mirror the progression of a software developers career chronologically as well.

The school project

I love this one, because this is where a large number of hackers become “software engineers”. Or so says the industry and HR people. The only reason I value this type of project is because it’s such a stark contrast to how development happens in the real world. Somehow, the particular mix of apathetic group members + hero group member + late nights in the computer lab makes for good memories to reminisce after you’ve been in the software industry for a while.

The “I can do that in a weekend” project

Don’t lie – the first time you saw twitter you said, “I can write that and more in a weekend.” Maybe not twitter, but we’ve all run into successful apps and scratched our heads pondering what the big deal happens to be. So go ahead, write it. Build that app. Then eat dirt. I find this is the fastest way to learn that 1. no, it’s not that easy, and 2. even if you built and launched a me-too app, no one cares.

The “I’ll build it from scratch” project

This is another one too many of us have had the guilty pleasure of partaking in. Instead of taking well-known and well-document open source solutions already out there, you decide you can do it better yourself. More often than not, you walk away with a new appreciation of that whole shoulder-of-giants saying. Then you start shopping.

The “other platform” project

Everyone gets curious about the greener grass on the other side. So appease the need. If you’re a *nix/apache type, give .NET a shot. If you’re the .NET type, give open-source platforms a shot. Loving Java? Try C#. RoR expert? Give Django a shot. Learning both sides is not so much for gaining actual experience as it is for gaining perspective. My personal experience has shown that you just might stay on that new platform. (Of course, most of my experience has been of the Microsoft camp going open source.) At worst, you’ll know you validated the choices you made going into your current setup.

The “coding as a job” project

If you haven’t already, get a job (at least once). It’s a quick shot of reality and harsh perspective. It helps you realize what engineering in the wild is like. Product managers, program managers, project managers, mid-level managers vs. you. It helps you realize whether working in a team is your strength or your weakness. It helps you learn to curb that ego of yours. It makes you appreciate just how difficult running a business is, aside from the technical side of things. Observe the sales people, watch the BD team. Learn their tactics, their way of doing things. It will make you a more well-rounded individual. If nothing else, you’ll learn what kind of software and services the suit-and-tie crowd really need.

The startup project

The beauty of software is that everyone’s got an invitation to start something up. This is more than just a “all the cool kids are doing it” thing – I feel that everyone should try to build a project (and eventually product) that brings real value to people. In fact, try charging for it. Nothing validates your ideas, concepts, beliefs, and ambitions more than getting others to give attention to what you’ve got to say or sell. If you fail, no big deal – you’ve learned something valuable and chances are you lost nothing but a few weekends and hosting money. If you succeed, well then it’s all the more rewarding.

The open source project

This is where the “end-game” of software development happens. You go through life looking for projects to be passionate about. You’ve gone through school and pulled through the grind. You’ve tried the whole day job thing and you’re either feeding your family or you’re looking for a new cause. You’ve done your own start up, for better or for worse. In the end, you begin to realize nothing is better than sharing your great hack, tool, technology, algorithm, framework, project, or application with the world. I find that the sense of accomplishment that comes with open source projects spans the spectrum from being the sole maintainer of tiny, obscure plugin to being a drop-in-the-bucket contributer to a massive framework.