“It Works on My Machine” is the Elite Developer’s Badge of Honor

Photo by Mohamed Sameeh on Unsplash

Code is king for software developers. In the fight between code warriors, there is one cry that echoes off the walls.

“It works on my machine!”

This isn’t an excuse. It isn’t revealing that you are weak to your colleagues. It’s the battle cry of the enlightened.

Let’s delve into the misunderstood genius of this legendary statement.

Personal Accountability

“It works on my machine” for The Secret Developer means “my code thrives in the right environment”.

It’s not shirking accountability from the elite developers. It’s taking responsibility.

 In a world where “I thought you checked that” is the norm, taking ownership is a rare quality and is an indicator of an elite developer.

A Call for Better Documentation

Every time a developer says “It works on my machine” it should be a reminder about the importance of documentation. You know that if there is good documentation environments are easy to replicate. 

I suggested we document our coding standards and just got a link to Google as a response. Please understand that this does not represent documentation.

 Team Learning

If “It works on my machine” the door is open for a magical team journey of discovery. We can share the knowledge and learn about everyone’s setup. It’s a bonding experience, a rite of passage, and a team-building exercise rolled into one.

Highlights the Need for Continuous Integration

“It works on my machine” is a siren song calling for the adoption of Continuous Integration (CI). It’s a reminder that, in an ideal world, we would have systems in place that catch these discrepancies before they become legendary tales of yore. That just isn’t going to come true though, is it?

A serious analysis

Seriously “It works on my machine” is a jerk move, and not a good one either.

Please don’t do this. It won’t make you an elite developer. It means you will not be able to work well with other developers as this is often communicating your fear of failure to the team. 

You won’t be able to create great software without great teamwork. Get to know them work in the team and work well together.

Conclusion

Next time you hear “It works on my machine” you can either be pithy and sarcastic like The Secret Developer above or you can actually help the developer in question.

Remember each problem has a solution, and getting involved and helping each other out is what teamwork is really about.