I've been developing software for 32 years now and object oriented software for 25 years. If you ask me what my best skill is, I'd say it's my ability to quickly dive into a problem and resolve it even if I don't understand the system very well. On one project I worked on, a developer wasn't working out. They didn't feel comfortable making any changes until they understood the system so they spent months drawing diagrams of the system in an attempt to learn it. This fear tends to stop you from making progress. I remember on one of my first jobs, I told a more experienced colleague that I'd feel better working in the system when I finally understood it. He told me that I'd never understand it so get used to it. Your understanding will grow as you develop in that system but you can't use it as an excuse for not making progress. I've always found this to be true. Rather than worry about whether I can do something, I just jump in and do it. It almost always works out well. If not, no other approach would have worked any better.
Download