Developer to Publisher

Someone mentioned this in an intro thread and it made me wonder how others are adapting from being a developer (or designer) to a publisher?

it has taken me (and i'm still working on it) about 3-4 years to make the mental shift from being that of a developer that feels everything should be planned out adequately and done "proprely" (as dictated from school textbooks) to more of a "just get the blinking site up!" to which I guess might be considered more of a RAD model without all the paperwork and planning done first.

I've gone from trying to do things "by the book" from the training i've had and find it so burdening before I even code that I've now changed my process from that of a "proper and adequate planning" (which wasn't working for me) to that of just drawining a design up on a piece of paper and then coding away implementing the database as I go. I'm finding it much easier to doodle on my whiteboard, take a photo with the digicam, and print that out for documentation rather then spending the time to make 6 diagrams of the same thing from different angles and users points of view in visio (which i hate using) because it's "what you're supposed to do" to finally be relieved reading a book that said, "in the real world, you chose one and go with it, the rest aren't necessary". trying to be a good student and practice what was preached to me, that was like hearing the easter bunny and santy clause weren't real ;)

so, are there others here who do come from a software engineering background and having to grapple with finding a faster way of getting new business ideas up on the web quickly? how have you all adapted? should I feel guilty about throwing my data flow, UML, and other such diagrams to the dogs in order to feel like im getting things done?

A simple script I can do over a weekend if I draw it up and then code it. If i were to plan properly, it would take me months and in which time, i lose interest in completing the project!

Wasn't a big deal for me. When I was young I taught myself all the developer stuff I know, and now that I am getting my degree in Commerce so it was a natural shift.

I am kind of headed the other direction from very little planning to a more thoughtful approach to design and planning. But alot of that documentation you talk about can be done in the code itself, with good commenting. I would think.

I am not a big advocate of no planning but as I have been bitten a number of times by not thinking through the problem completely. Over time my process is becoming more formalized and more effective. What about using just some basic psuedo code to flesh out ideas?

I read alot about different methodolgies but alot of them don't seem like they would be all that effective for me. So I end up doing exactly what you do, diagram my major pieces out on the whiteboard, then break it down from there. I am trying to get away from that "compile and fix method" I have used for so long.

I am in the middle of code complete 2 and that book has some nice points about planning and design. You might check it out.

I've been a publisher since I was 8, and still don't get it through my head to do that damned "Get the bloody site up" thing. I always take *forever* to launch my sites.

i wouldn't say im not doing any planning, just a lot less "structured" far from "by the textbook". i didn't like that doing everything by the book seemed to bring my projects to a standstill and there was no movement in getting them done. i've been making that mental shift to OOP lately which i've found is helping me in not having to re-write code over and over.

i think i've also programmed for so long that i dont need to document or plan out a lot of stuff because it's as natural to me as walking or breathing.

i've gotten more stuff done in the last 4-6 months then i have in the past 4-5 years!

I'm working on making the shift myself (I just launched my first content site last night and I'm working on another one). Mentally, it's been a bit of a challenge. I need to not over-think things like design and develoopment (a simple content site doesn't always need a CMS or a fancy layout) and focus more on writing and SEO.

It's not that I plan any less, it's just that I plan differently. I'm coming at it from more of a business/marketing/content perspective than a design/development one. This has been a bit difficult to wrap my brain around at times, particularly on the site that's still in development.