If I'm Not a Domino Developer, What Am I?
As a follow-up to yesterday's post in which I said that "I'm No Longer a Domino Developer" I thought I'd talk about what it is I think I now am.
What have I been using over the last 18 months or so? Mainly I've been using - and you might not like to hear this - ASP.NET.
Does that mean I'm an ASP.NET developer? I don't know. I can't imagine ever introducing myself as that. Web Developer is still what I tend to say.
I've done a bit of PHP/LAMP work, a SharePoint project, some Flex stuff and the odd bit of Domino work, but, mainly it's been ASP.NET that's seen me through what has been a thoroughly terrible year without having to call it quits.
How come ASP.NET? Through choice! Visual Studio is a pleasure to use and it's a very flexible environment, with plentiful hosting choices.
The two main projects I've worked on in the last year have required me to make the call on which platform to use and also to host the applications on servers under my control. I like to think of myself as a "solution provider" in both cases.
In both cases I was approached like so: "We need a website to do this". I was then left to get on with it. This is in stark contrast with the past where I've always been approached like so: "We need a Domino website to do this".
Why not use Domino? Lots of reasons. The most important factor, in both cases, was that it didn't fit too well, technically. Neither site needed most of what Domino offers, such as ACLs, replication, messaging, response documents, readers/authors field etc. One of the sites involved working a lot with numbers, which I've never been happy doing in Domino. Other, less important, factors included the usual things like lack of and cost of hosting in Domino. Licencing. Etc.
Domino could have done both projects - at a push - and I could have chosen Domino, which would have meant yesterday's post wouldn't have happened, but I didn't choose Domino. Obviously this means it's me that's choosing not to be a Domino developer. But then I never chose to be one in the first place. I was told I would be and being a Domino developer up till now has been so good to me that I've never had cause to change.
So, think of me from now on as a Web Developer. If it's on the web I'll do it. Even if it's in Domino, if that's what you want.
Skip to the 
You can subscribe to an individual
You can say you are an Application Architect/Solution Architect/Developer and some special cases you can add specific platforms in from ie Domino Developer, .Net Application Architect etc.
Reply
Makes for a crowded business card, eh?
Reply
Developer that master JS Frameworks, have UI skills and have a certain degree of BackEnd understanding are EXTREMELLY precious people ! But they need to work in a team I think...
Reply
Brother, until IBM starts paying you to promote their product then in my opinion never label yourself to one function or brand. And I wouldn't loose a minutes sleep over it.
A few years back when getting a loan you put down Web Developer as your occupation, but even call yourself that is a mis-understatement. I would put Applications Engineer or Applications Architect or something like that.
But whatever you call yourself, you're the best at it no matter what. (At least that's what you need to tell yourself)
Reply
I understand completely. I'm a "web" developer and on the continuing path of learning Java. To me, the playing field for domino and competing technologies have leveled out. It's not as popular anymore...yeah, IBM could do better marketing and thus more to stay competitive. But, it's all about "perceived" savings for companies. As solution providers, we are responsible for helping companies make efficient and economically sound decisions. Additionally, our priorities are ourselves and families. We have to stay employed, so if using a different technology dictates that, we have to be prepared for the change and go for it and stay out of "the dream" of what it "could" be. I'm currently working as a domino developer but I'm open for change.
Jake, you will do well!
Reply
Not to mention that "Domino" developers should feel VERY comfortable working with NoSQL datastore like mongoDB or CouchDB...sounds like an interesting diversification area to get in...
Reply
Really... "NON-Domino" developers should feel VERY comfortable working with NoSQL datastore like mongoDB or CouchDB...
Because "NON-Domino" developer would still follow good design patterns (MVC etc). Its just change of data layer for them. Everything else is same.
Reply
Totally agree Michael. CouchDB looks v interesting - and designed by a Notes developer :-)
Reply
Jake,
We went through the same issues about a two year ago. We always focused on the Domino platform for everything we did because of our love for Lotus and it was the most practical and flexible platform. However, other solutions have become just as flexible and capable as Domino.
Domino licensing has been a major issue especially for hosting. With all the open source environments out there, it is very difficult to justify using Domino with their hosting license model. However, there are many reasons to use Domino in a Web application environment including SPNEGO and NoSQL database format. I will continue to push the Domino platform when appropriate. However, for a standard Web site the cost is too high.
Every so often we need to reevaluate what we are doing and open our eyes and see what is happening outside our Yellow bubble. I see too many having tunnel vision including myself for many years. As developers or architects we are focused on providing the best solution that fits the needs of our customers. Therefore, "Solution Architects" is really what we really should be calling ourselves.
Reply
These days I just introduce myself as a "Computer Consultant". It covers a multitude of sins. Given the variety of Development platforms, features, capabilities, software needs, project management, customer guidance (and dare I say it, training), needs for the modern changing tech world, it's probably as close to what you do, as what I currently do. It's an upmarket term for the luddites, yet as descriptive as it needs to be.
Reply
How about IT consultant? It could be just me but computer consultant makes me think that people expect me to fix their computer.
Reply
Show the rest of this thread
How about "collaborative web apps developer", or a variation on that theme? This stresses what you've taken away from your experience in the Domino world -- not the platform technology, but the mindset and the knowledge of what it takes to provide the solution the customer and end-user need.
Reply
I would not worry too much about job titles until it is needed. I have a context-sensitive job title. At work I'm mostly a solution architect, yet depending on the context of the project I may also be an IT specialist, developer, technical consultant, Domino expert, .NET guy, Sharepoint guy. Outside of work I consider myself mostly a web guy, meaning front-end engineer, user experience specialist or even a designer, or so I try to be.
To me job titles are what others like to call me because people and organizations have the tendency to label things. It has zero relevance to myself. It only becomes relevant if I were to write a resume or would network for a very specific assignment.
I push this refusal to be boxed in quite far actually. At work they cannot figure out whether to put me in the developers or consultants team. I tell them it is a limit of the organization model, not myself.
Reply
I don't think it's really about titles. It's about identity.
I think it is significant, for two reasons.
First, what is it that defines Jake's advantage over 99 out of 100 guys whom his customers would consider hiring for this job? Why are his skills not just a commodity that should be hired from the lowest bidder? Is he just better than the rest with the technology, and therefore faster and more accurate? Or does Jake also do a better job for the customer because he knows things the other guys don't know -- and he can even tell the customers things they don't know they need, because his experience has trained him to think about things they don't think about.
Second, it's about direction. Jake has gone through a transition. There will probably be another one, and another after that. Is it going to be a random walk through a series of different development technologies that are popular with customers for whatever types of tasks are in-demand at the time? Or is there something that defines the types of tasks that Jake wants to be doing for customers?
BTW: it's absolutely fine if Jake's (or anyone's) strongest advantage is that he's better/faster/more accurate. It's fine if he doesn't want to define a type of task that he's most interested in. Lots of people are successful that way. For me, though, after about my first five years as a "Lotus generalist", I decided that it was better to be a "Lotus and... X" guy. For a while it was "Lotus and web", then it was "Lotus and 3rd party integration", most recently it has been "Lotus and archiving". The way I saw it, and still do, is that by always having an "and... X" I will always have two ways I can decide to go in the future. Jake has clearly been one of the premiere "Lotus and Web " guys for these past many years, and now he's dropped the "Lotus". So he's kept the "web" part, but what's his new "and... X"?
Reply
Show the rest of this thread
So we going to see a ASP.NET version of this site or the rockall site? Throw in some pretty jquery stuff?
Reply
Very unlikely. Probably talk of ASP.NET and demos, but no migration planned.
Reply
Show the rest of this thread
If you think about job titles, I'd pick IT Consultant, with the list of skills you have.
I always saw the job title IT Business Analyst misused in the company I work for, because the analysis of business processes I was involved developing was mainly done by myself and other developers.
So far, you could even use that title, that sells so well.
Anyway, I strongly recommend you to join "the dark side" , ie add Ruby on Rails and iOS SDK to your skills. CouchDB and MongoDB are easy choices for RoR developers, while iOS skills are very much a requested skill nowadays. Let's not talk about how many .net developers are there, and their pricing going downfall (when you see so many demands and offers for a specific position, it means tariffs are not high anymore. It happens the same even for SAP consultants nowadays.)
Reply
Hi Jake.
I have followed your blog for 10 years now.
I have learned Lotus Web Development with your blog and have seen all "evolutions" of your blog (domino, personnal life, Flex, etc).
I am a Lotus freelance consultant for 4 years.
IBM doesn't deserve any loyalties. They have killed us. Their marketing is awfull, they have fu*** with Workplace, and now it is simply too late.
If giant clients keep going with Lotus, most mid caps have migrated to exchange for their mail, and planned to quit for their applications.
I have a recent client that just migrate to exchange whereas they have Lotus since 1993 !!!
Today, I always found work but prices are not exciting and job is mainly maintenance work.
Rockall Design is a Web company, with competencies in ASP.Net, Flex, Design, and Domino... :-)
Jake H. is Rockall Design's Manager. :-)
Reply
Hi Fabrice, you are the "French" Fabrice right ?
If yes, what about teaming to refuel our sleeping Domino community here in France ;-)
Reply
Show the rest of this thread
Jake, do you know Salesforce.com? Doing development on this platform you can reach millions of customers. And it is just web development (from a technical point of view). You can try it for free, it looks very interesting. And you get paying customers and not the normal 'AppStore Geek' ;-)
Although building apps for Apple also is a quite interesting job for you, I think!
Reply
You are the owner/host of my favourite IT blog.
Keeping blogging, be it Domino, ASP.net, sharepoint, whatever.
I'll be reading.
Reply