[Product-Developers] Re: How can we win the battle for developers?

[Hedley Roos]

> A serious problem we have in our company, menttes work just with Plone, 
> is how expensive is to add/train new developers. Is very hard to find 
> python or zope developers out there. So, we've to train every new person 
> in all the stack, and this is a big investment for a small company.
> 

I think 6 months is par for training an existing developer to be a good 
Plone developer. I have been pleasantly surprised though by a friend who 
needed only 3/4 months before he could deliver good products.

But... it is a bit long. Plone 3 worsens the curve (sorry, I know we 
have component architecture and it is more correct, but it is true.)

At Upfront we're all subcontractors. We all had to get up to speed 
mostly by ourselves and show that we can deliver. That means the risk 
run by Upfront is smaller. The flipside is that this model only works 
for people fresh out of college, or people in mid-career wanting to 
change careers. And they need the right personality for Plone :)

I honestly think the only way to "win" is to make Plone easier to 
customize. I don't think marketing will help much, although I did notice 
Limi on some panel of 10 which made Slashdot's front page. I'm sure he 
spreads the word.

I've noticed a few tools which will help us win. Grok is going to make 
things easier. Argo+ArchGen is awesome for developers. We're looking at 
Deliverance right now as a styling solution. And then the whole new 
generation of tools which enables TTW development. And KSS is excellent.

Hedley