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How I Came to Understand Software Requirements
The first software I ever wrote for money was in 1999. This gig was for my alma mater’s admissions department. The task: create a map of the united states that web users could click, and determine which admissions adviser they should talk to.
The requirements consisted of the head of admissions standing next to me looking at their existing website, and describing what they wanted.
How Hard Can That Be?
I was a philosophy/music double major, but I had been interested in programming since I figured out how to look at Basic on a Commodore 64. I had consistently attempted to recreate Ultima-style games on a series of platforms, from the Apple IIgs, Tandy, Compaq 286, so-on.
I was an early BBS user and gamer and when the web came along I was all over that. JavaScript and HTML were natural interests for me: I had been playing around with them for a couple years by ‘99.
How hard could this map thing be? A moment of research revealed that an image map was the solution.
Let’s Do It
As a deli-employed recent-grad, I quickly agreed to the project (which I came to understand, was called a contract). I didn’t get paid much, but even $100 was a lot at the time.
