Non-Profit Tech Blog

From time to time, I get requests to do CTO or project management jobs on a consulting basis. I can’t do them. I’m already the Executive Director of socialmarkets. However, I’d love to pass the buck (and the bucks) to my readers.

Before I just open up my recommendations to anyone though, I have to do a pretty thorough check on people who would be interested. What follows is my top 10 list of things you should know and practice as a nonprofit technology consultant for web application development. Be aware that this would be a different list if I was writing about network engineering.

1. You know about Agile and waterfall methodologies and you can describe both their strengths and weaknesses. (And I’m praying and hoping you’re picking Agile for your preferred methodology.)
2. You’ve worked in the nonprofit sector before (and no, working with a foundation doesn’t count, sorry philanthropoids).
3. You know Rails or PHP. Nothing wrong with Python but at least try those two languages out. And by knowing Rails, I mean that you at least own the Pickaxe book and know who THE DAVID is. And by PHP, you at least know what a PEAR is and why you can’t eat one.
4. You have documentation (screenshots, old proposals, manuals) laying around ready for perusal by any interested parties (like me).
5. You were once a junior coder for at least a year. That’s right, working in the coal mines gives you character. At least that’s what Dad said when he sent you there.
6. You have a blog that you keep up. And three month gaps between postings don’t count. GRRR.
7. You read a ton of blogs. Show me your OPML. (And you better know what that means.)
8. You use MS Project, Basecamp or Unfuddle or better yet, can describe the differences between all the packages.
9. You can tell me how to keep developers happy. Believe me, not many people know how to do this.
10. You love test-driven development and will train or hire coders to match that.
11. And in true Non-Profit Tech Blog tradition, I hereby offer you the 11th thing you should know… You have a great knowledge of the liberal arts and subscribe to numerous arts and design magazines. Ugly code is always ugly but pretty code is at least eye candy for the users.

It’s not so bad — I’m not asking for a perfect match but if you’re hiring a consultant for web application development you should probably adopt these standards now. And no, I’m not advocating a particular technology, just a particular methodology. And you as a prospective employer, can take this with a grain of salt but I suggest that adoption of these points in your shop will get you much of the way towards a state-of-2005 approach to software development. Being two years behind isn’t bad, but 10 years — well, we’ll have to talk then.

So if you’re in the NYC area and want to gain a little bit of my mindshare when I’m asked for recommendations, hit me up at abenamer['at']nonprofittechblog.org.