The needs of the pseudo‐pro
John L. Cutbill, Karen Spärck Jones · Software Practice and Experience · 1973
The Needs of the Pseudo-Pro*We are a small group of users and do a great deal of computing-a mixture of program writing and production work.We don't just use other peoples' programs.We are quite intelligent in general and very hostile to bureaucracy.We find our intelligence quite compatible with very stupid use of the machine.We are not computer scientists and want results.We are not interested in the efficiency or elegance of the computing process.' Our time is money ', so we don't like altering something once it is working, We don't have much formal computer training but we know a great deal.This knowledge is very patchy.Some of the things we don't know would horrify the true pro's but they don't believe anyone can be that ignorant.We won't attend courses and never scan computing journals.We may do a lot of informal programming advisory work and are in an excellent position to spread bad computing habits.We work under pressure and to tight deadlines (usually past).We are intolerant of real or imaginary deficiencies in the service we get.However, we are flexible and will put up with a lot of inconvenience if this results in our getting through a lot more work.Now for our requirements-the in phrase, we understand, is 'non-negotiable demands '.We will cover these under the heads of management, software and hardware.