We recently decided to support Django, a web development framework built on the language Python.  During the decision making process, leading to the support of Django, I stumbled across a great article called ‘The Python Paradox’ by Paul Graham.  The basic premise of this article is that a developer who is willing to learn a comparatively esoteric language like Python is exactly the type of developer you want working for you.  They didn’t learn Python because it would get them a job, they learned it because they have a passion for development and the other languages they know weren’t allowing them to fully express that.  Graham hit on something very important here.  It’s not really the language a person is using, but the person itself that makes great software.  Given another language such as Java or C# this person would probably still write elegant code.

This is an idea that is starting to spread rapidly – it’s all about people. It’s been around in the software development field for awhile now, championed by the Agile development community.  The first plank of the agile manifesto says ‘Individuals and Interactions over processes and tools’.  SCRUM, a agile project management technique we use believes in the self-organizing team.  Top down control just isn’t the right way – you need to empower your development team and let them unleash their own creativity in the project.  The team will feel like they have more of a stake in the project this way, and not just a stop on the website assembly line.

This idea is also one of the leading principles in the new world of digital marketing.  The cluetrain manifesto talks about how markets are no longer what they once where.  The markets are now a conversation – a conversation comprised of people.  The second of the cluetrains’ 95 theses states this: “Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors”.  We can no longer think of people has a market demographic we need to hit.  Digital marketing needs to have a genuine conversation with them and help people connect to other like minded individuals.  Most people can see through ‘business-speak’ very easily now-a-days – and they have the internet to make sure you’re telling them the truth.

User experience design is yet another field that has embraced this idea – so much so that people (users) is it’s main focus.  A good experience designer will embrace the complexity that is the individual and try to build empathy for each users unique needs.  That’s not to say that you have to design a solution for every possible user, but you have to go past demographics and boiler-plate ‘user profiles’ and talk to people.  Figure out what they really want and design your experience around that.

It’s interesting how this idea is spreading throughout multiple disciplines.  I guess truth is truth wherever it is being spoken.