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unnecessary changes
Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 9:49 pm
by angrivated
We've been working on a site that gets about 5,000 visitors per month and we hired senior-level PHP programmer when all we needed was a mid-level, and the guy starts rewriting basic architecture and conflicting with our code. He also said we should split our site into service- and data-level API structure with WordPress and all this crap... WAY beyond what we need any time soon. I'm afraid he might be coding for what he's used to and giving us a lot more work than we need to do. How do you determine what level changes you need? I think this guy came from a way higher-level company than we're at, and this stuff would make sense months from now or next year but now it just seems like overkill. How do we determine that? How do we know where to draw the line on this stuff?
Re: unnecessary changes
Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 9:52 pm
by Benjamin
Is he trying to change everything to a SOA (Service-Oriented Architecture)?
I'd pull the plug on that. It's easy to hook APIs into Models, therefore SOA is just a buzzword. You are using Models... right?
Regardless, he shouldn't be making arbitrary system changes without presenting a written plan that can be reviewed by everyone involved.
Re: unnecessary changes
Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 10:12 pm
by angrivated
It's already SaaS. It's just a non-OOP custom MVC (kind of hinky models and no formal controllers) that works and has database query function files that he says he won't use (he built his own query class instead) so now we have two ways of accessing data based on what part of the site you're working on... no plan for transition or anything. He wants to split the site into data/service/API level architecture, and do the front-facing site in WordPress. WordPress?! We have like a five-page site with one form and an admin section. What do we need word press and service-level API for? How do you make these decisions?
Re: unnecessary changes
Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 10:27 pm
by Benjamin
If there's SEO involved, Wordpress is not a bad solution. The wordpress codebase is pretty poor but it is flexible, there's lots of plugins and it's pretty easy to work on.
Have you asked him why he has decided Wordpress is a good solution?
Re: unnecessary changes
Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 10:55 pm
by Christopher
angrivated wrote:It's already SaaS. It's just a non-OOP custom MVC (kind of hinky models and no formal controllers) that works and has database query function files that he says he won't use (he built his own query class instead) so now we have two ways of accessing data based on what part of the site you're working on... no plan for transition or anything.
I don't think the query class in and of itself is a bad idea. And it may not make sense to change old code that works just to make it compatible. But it would be good to have a plan in place to refactor the code from the old design to the new.
angrivated wrote:He wants to split the site into data/service/API level architecture, and do the front-facing site in WordPress. WordPress?! We have like a five-page site with one form and an admin section. What do we need word press and service-level API for? How do you make these decisions?
If Wordpress is his hammer then maybe everything looks like a nail (or blog). Wordpress can be a good solution, but remember that you will now spend time keeping Wordpress up-to-date and dealing with its idiosyncrasies.
Bottom line ... someone needs to be in charge of the direction the code will take.
Re: unnecessary changes
Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 12:06 am
by Bill H
One thing you need to do is clarify who is in charge. You are paying him and it is your site, but he is pushing you around and doing things you don't want done. He sounds like an arrogant jerk who needs to be put in his place.
It's has "database query function files that he says he won't use." Then send him packing and hire someone who will use them. Never let someone who is being paid by you dictate what he will and won't do.
"What do we need word press and service-level API for?" Based on your description, you probably don't.
"How do you make these decisions?" Well, you sure as hell don't let him make them for you. He seems to be running up the price tag beyond the original contract. Otherwise known as "milking the whale."
Re: unnecessary changes
Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 7:06 am
by s.dot
Yeah, when you're paying, you say "do what I tell you to do, not what you want to do." It is really that simple. However, you should be polite and clarify politely that you're asking for changes now and you will worry about more things when the time comes.
Re: unnecessary changes
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 11:40 am
by Bill H
you should be polite and clarify politely
Well, maybe for your own peace of mind and to preserve your own dignity, but from the way the guy is being described it doesn't dound like he deserves it. Nor does it sound like courtesy will make the point for him. He will interpret it as weakness.
Maybe I'm just being cynical. I've been around too long.