This is a place to talk about programming and IT in the real world. A place where we can refuse to accept “it’s like that everywhere” as justification to continue to put up with the problems we all face.

Even though most of us don’t work for a fancy startup or one of the tech giants that has it together, we can still improve our craft and improve our workplaces. Even if the products we build aren’t exciting, that doesn’t mean the way we do our jobs cannot be.

I’ve been a developer, sysadmin, and architect in the midwest for about 15 years. I’ve worked for everything from small start-ups to manufacturers to giant government contractors to government agencies. I’ve seen a lot of broken teams and broken practices first hand, but I’ve also seen a lot of positive change happen as well.

By sharing these stories, I hope to start a dialog about IT and software for the vast majority of us working in average shops, with average-shop problems. The first step to fixing the status quo is to reject it.