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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoPlainText>Here is a sneak preview of our coverage of that story from chapter 13 of the revised History of Modern Computing. As obsessive list-watchers may remember, I’ve been working with Paul Ceruzzi on a new edition of his classic overview history. The book is about to enter copyediting and production at MIT Press. (more on the project at <a href="https://www.mediacoop.uni-siegen.de/wp-content/uploads/Working-Paper-Series-No-3.pdf">https://www.mediacoop.uni-siegen.de/wp-content/uploads/Working-Paper-Series-No-3.pdf</a>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:.5in;text-indent:.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>The effect of all these new tools was to make the development of a major interactive website a much cheaper and faster proposition in the 2010s than it was in the 1990s, despite the enormously greater complexity of modern websites. This put a huge premium on programmers able to work with the particular blend of technologies needed for a project. Startups particularly prized the “full stack developer” whose skills extended from operating systems through databases, server code, and browser-based code, to interface design, requirements analysis, and project management. Such creatures were rare, some said almost non-existent, but the search for them signaled a shift from the old corporate model of systems development with large, specialized teams. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:.5in;text-indent:.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>The shift was accompanied by a tendency of skilled programmers to identify as “coders,” and a new industry of “coding boot camps.” Back in the 1950s “coding” had been identified as the most routine, and worst paid, aspect of programming. That work was soon automated by software tools and the job title dwindled during the 1960s. Title inflation followed – programmers were called “analysts” or “software engineers”. The programming staff at firms like Google are usually called engineers, despite efforts by the engineering professions to reserve the word for people with actual engineering credentials. The word “architect” was eventually applied to almost every part of the system development process, perhaps spurred by design expert Don Norman’s high profile appointment as Apple’s “User Experience Architect” in 1993. This similarly enraged real architects. According to a 2010 report, the “down economy has only sharpened their displeasure, as thousands of un- and underemployed architects sift through job listings for software architects, systems architects, data architects, and information architects: in short, every kind of ‘architect’ except their own kind.”<a style='mso-endnote-id:edn1' href="#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><sup><sup><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-US'>[i]</span></sup></sup></a><sup> </sup><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:.5in;text-indent:.5in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>“Coder,” in contrast, was an aggressively unpretentious identify celebrating the practical business of sticking together computer instructions. Perhaps IT development work has now reached a level of pay and respect that efforts to appropriate job titles from better established professions will no longer be necessary. A <i>New Yorker</i> article from 2014 suggested that elite developers were the new rock stars or professional athletes, able to earn huge sums negotiated by slick agents.<a style='mso-endnote-id:edn2' href="#_edn2" name="_ednref2" title=""><sup><sup><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-US'>[ii]</span></sup></sup></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Tom<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>-----Original Message-----<br>From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> On Behalf Of McMillan, William W<br>Sent: Tuesday, May 5, 2020 2:51 PM<br>To: members@sigcis.org<br>Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Programmer vs. coder vs. sofware developer vs. software engineer</p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Thanks to those who sent suggestions for background info on this topic!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>My own interest in the history of computing is really more about understanding the present, and my concern about the use and misuse of professional titles, though informed by history, leads to questions such as:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>- Why do we call programmers and software developers coders nowadays, when that term has long been used to label those with quite limited intellectual involvement in software development, and even considered to be carrying out a clerical task (as explained well in Nathan's book)?<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>- Why do we apply the term software engineer to those who can program, but who really know very little about software engineering in the broader sense?<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>To me this suggests that our society, and the enterprises that create the software we use, have extremely limited understanding of software development and what it entails. This is a failure of those of us who teach computing and software engineering and maybe of professional societies.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>The risks to society are immense. Imagine if a machinist or even a self-taught tinkerer could adopt the title mechanical engineer at will and be tasked with designing the critical devices of our civilization. Or if anyone with some knowledge of biochemistry could serve as a pharmacist?<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Maybe SIGCIS members don't believe that this topic belongs on this list, but I feel that historians might be better positioned to address it than many in the technical and commercial communities who are consumed by immediate demands, and who have very limited understanding of their profession's past.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>OK, end of rant!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Thanks,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Bill <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>________________________________________<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>From: Members [members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org] on behalf of McMillan, William W [william.mcmillan@cuaa.edu]<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Sent: Monday, May 04, 2020 11:28 AM<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>To: <a href="mailto:members@sigcis.org"><span style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'>members@sigcis.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] Programmer vs. coder vs. sofware developer vs. software engineer<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Hello, SIGCIS folks.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>The ruminations below might have little scholarly importance, but I think the subject is interesting at least in regard to the culture of computing.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>What do we call people who design and implement computer programs?<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Nowadays, the term coder is used, maybe most often. My understanding is that this used to refer to the job of translating a detailed flow chart, which was created by a programmer, into an implementation language. I.e., the coder was sort of like a human compiler who translated a detailed algorithm into a computer language like Fortran, Cobol, or assembly language. The coder didn't design algorithms.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Later, the coder dropped out of the loop and a programmer implemented algorithms directly in a computer language (possibly after creating a flow chart or pseudo-code).<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>The term software developer has been used, possibly implying that the job is broader than just programming, including gathering requirements, testing, and integration with existing systems.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Starting in the late 1960s, the title software engineer became common. At least initially, this implied a very broad scope, as well as specialized training in requirements analysis, system design, programming style, verification and validation, risk assessment, maintenance techniques, UI design, and other aspects of software development. I believe that Texas even licenses professional engineers in software engineering, and a detailed curriculum has been defined:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><a href="https://www.acm.org/binaries/content/assets/education/se2014.pdf"><span style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'>https://www.acm.org/binaries/content/assets/education/se2014.pdf</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>The title software engineer implied that the person at least had a solid university course specifically in software engineering, as well as a good foundation in computer science or information systems.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>The term systems analyst sometimes implies a similar role, though it might mean something more akin to requirements analysis.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Currently, anyone who writes computer programs might identify as a software engineer, even if he or she has no background beyond computer programming. Companies use the title willy-nilly. This inflates the prestige of the job, I suppose.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>At the same time, we call developers coders, which to me sounds like it deflates prestige.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>What professionals call themselves does matter. If a medical assistant calls himself a physician, the risks are obvious. If a physician (true software engineer) calls herself a technician (coder), then at least confusion results. Of course governments regulate the use of job titles in medical professions, while software development as it exists today is very libertarian.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Has there been much consideration of the common use of job titles in the history of computing? Certainly there's been a lot of work in the history of software engineering, programming, systems analysis, etc., but I'm asking about the use and misuse of job titles by individuals and organizations.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Thanks.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Bill<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>_______________________________________________<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at <a href="http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/"><span style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'>http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/</span></a> and you can change your subscription options at <a href="http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org"><span style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'>http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>_______________________________________________<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at <a href="http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/"><span style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'>http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/</span></a> and you can change your subscription options at <a href="http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org"><span style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'>http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></p></div><div style='mso-element:endnote-list'><br clear=all><hr align=left size=1 width="33%"><div style='mso-element:endnote' id=edn1><p class=MsoEndnoteText><a style='mso-endnote-id:edn1' href="#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class=MsoEndnoteReference><span class=MsoEndnoteReference><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-US'>[i]</span></span></span></a> {Hurley, 2010 #6635}<o:p></o:p></p></div><div style='mso-element:endnote' id=edn2><p class=MsoEndnoteText><a style='mso-endnote-id:edn2' href="#_ednref2" name="_edn2" title=""><span class=MsoEndnoteReference><span class=MsoEndnoteReference><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-US'>[ii]</span></span></span></a> {Widicombe, 2014 #6625}.<o:p></o:p></p></div></div></body></html>