The presence of another programmer to implement an existing project

Question

This question does not come from the programmer. (obviously) I currently have a programmer creating a site for me, and I understand that it will not work fully.

He has already done a lot of work, and the site is almost there, but I need someone who is better at doing the rest. The site was made in asp.net, and I wonder how hard it would be for a more experienced programmer to take over and complete the work that he has already done?

In general, is it difficult for an asp.net programmer to come to the end of a project and fix what needs to be fixed?

The site has five different pages with two overlays for registration and login. (Five pages with many different versions) There is a script database and client side. Also used was AJAX. This is a site somewhat similar to SO, but not quite so complex and something completely different. I would say, think about something somewhere between Stackoverflow and Craig List. That’s all I can say now, since I don’t know the technical words.

Answer 1

A good idea would be for them to work together, say, in a week or two. This will help the new programmer get the necessary information about your current system.

Answer 2

You will probably find that a new programmer wants to rewrite most of the code from scratch. If you are on a tight deadline or on a tight budget and cannot accept full correspondence, then you need to hire someone who not only wrote good code well, but reads well, refactores, and improves bad code. These are two completely different skill sets, and the second is much less common. Depending on the quality of the existing code (and I assume this is not good), your new programmer may end up rewriting most of the existing code base to understand what is going on.

Answer 3

It depends on how good the previous programmer is and on the complexity of the project. It can be anything between a trivial one (a well-commented source, some high-level documents, unit tests, a unit or simple project), so that “this shit needs a complete rewrite” (without documents, “try it” customs, etc.), If you are not a developer, it can be very difficult to say. And other people will not be able to answer without any details.

Answer 4

I'm not an asp.net expert, but I suspect that the ease with which the replacement can complete the project will depend largely on how bad the work the first programmer did. Bad code is painful to fix in any language. :)

Answer 5

You may find that although the site is almost complete, the successor will have to spend more time than expected when making the changes, because this person will have a mental model of the software that the current developer has. Therefore, it is necessary that the next developer “rewrite” the code base.

If you can, you must make sure that the code base that you created is maintainable. That is, the solution is structured in such a way that it can easily support change. As Mark Byers suggested, you'll want to get someone who can not only program, but can also rework your existing code in order to be something that someone else will inevitably implement future changes. If software is what you need to continue working over a long period of time, you will want to make an investment in ensuring that new functionality is easily added.

Answer 6

Remember this experience described in The Daily WTF . Take appropriate precautions.

Answer 7

As a rule, if the site is configured in some standard way, then another programmer should easily pick it up. if an existing programmer did something to hide the code, then it would be difficult for another programmer to pick it up. The main question is how readable is the code?

Answer 8

If the current programmer does not want to report the true status of the project in a professional, non-technical manner, then give him an ultimatum - your path or highway. Most likely, he will be more ready if he knows that you mean business. Before stretching the topic, make sure you have a copy of the latest code.

It seems like you ended up hiring someone else, especially if you ask such questions at this point so that you can scrappy.

As Mark Byers noted, an experienced developer requires an experienced developer to take someone else’s code and resist the urge to “give pleasure” to bring the project to a working conclusion!