[m-e-g-a-z]

Im applying for an Internship as a Software Engineer at Accenture and they have asked this question in the application form.

Please describe in your own words what your role and responsibilities would be in this particular position within Accenture Technology Solutions.

I've wrote my reply to this question, what would your reply be to this?

[KYA]

Were you provided a job/position description prior to answering this question?


*Moved to the Cube, as I think it will get more/better attention here then in Computer Science*

[m-e-g-a-z]

Yes, heres the link Accenture - Software Engineer Internship

[macosxnerd101]

This is definitely an interesting quetsion. Obviously, the software engineer is going to should build user-friendly and functional software. Beyond that, I do believe the software engineer has an obligation to support the software he or she writes, but to a certain extent. Since programs are not children, I don't believe we are obligated to support them for the rest of our lives if we make one mistake. However, I do believe that the software engineer (or at least the company he or she works for) should offer support for a month or so at least to help the client work out any immediate kinks. I believe, however, that after a year, the software engineer isn't obligated to continue supporting the software unless the contract otherwise specifies.

I konw for my nonprofit website project in Web Design & Development class, I told my clients I would be willing to help work out any kinks from the launch date (June 4) until the last day of school (June 17), when really the chairman and my teacher have told all the clients for the various projects that June 4th is the drop-dead date.

Good luck on your internship by the way. Let us know what happens!

This post has been edited by macosxnerd101: 21 May 2010 - 05:36 PM

[godmoktail]

As a software engineer intern, I would add that my role includes documenting all changes, and all submitted code. It's just as important for someone else to understand what you have done.

[Sethro117]

I disagree macosxnerd101. The way I see it if you write the software you're responsible for any bug that may pop up. Whether it be in the first couple of days or a couple years down the road. I don't think you should constantly update it, create patches or anything for the software unless you and the client have come to an agreement on that. But when I hand off my release to a client I let them know unless previously discussed that if and whenever a problem arises that effects the original functionality of the program then I take full responsibility and fix it.

However, if the client is requesting new functionality or support then my connection with the software would be renegotiated and I would expect to be paid for my time. Thats just how I see it. I understand the chance of a bug popping up a couple years down the road is rare but it can happen.

[Mangotastic]

Software support can be the biggest money maker for companies and it is perfectly fine for a software company to charge for continue support of their software. How often do you get lifetime warranties on electronic gadgets for example? However, there has to be a line between understandable errors and utter incompetence and every piece of software should be delivered in a stable state free of critical errors (that prevent use of the system).

The title of Software Engineer is a diverse one and can cover an extremely large area. I usually think of Software Engineers as having greater role in the physical distribution of software (network, security, architecture, hardware etc) compared to a Software Developer or Web Developer who implements identified requirements.

This post has been edited by Mangotastic: 22 May 2010 - 11:03 AM

[macosxnerd101]

@Sethro117: You do make a valid point. I think if there was a major error that affected the users, I would fix it. However, my perspective is that of the Team Lead/Lead Developer for my non-profit website project for Web Design class. My group and I are working on a website for an organization that is going before Congress for health care reform for people with Craniofacial Disorders. Throughout this project, my clients have been constantly increasing the scope of this project for functionality and design, a good deal of the functionality outside of our capabilities as High School Juniors with heavily-restricted school computers. Fortunately, I have had more development than the rest of my group (or class) with PHP so I've been able to utilize things like Sessions and Database interactions.

Long story short, I feel that if I made myself readily available for support much past the end of school (our due date is June 4th), then I would get 20 emails and 30 phone calls a day asking for tweaks under the guise of "this isn't what we asked for" when I have documentation of what they asked for. Really, if they emailed me in August for a tweak, I'd still help them out if I could. However, if they contacted me in January, that might be a different story. In addition, the sophomores in our group that are in the Project Management class are working on documentation to teach them how to easily maintain the design of the site (I have emphasized not to touch the PHP and SQL end of things unless you have web development experience), and we are meeting with them the next week to go over it and walk them through the manual.

So it needs to be well established what the developers' responsibilities are after the clients get the software, as some clients will keep coming back for tweaks and hand-holding.

[macosxnerd101]

I believe he got the job.

[FreezingHazard]

honestly GOOD LUCK, great example, a software engineer hard codes the software used in planes so everyone is safe.

They fail and everyone fails.

[eZACKe]

FreezingHazard, on 23 June 2010 - 08:19 AM, said:

great example, a software engineer hard codes the software used in planes so everyone is safe.

They fail and everyone fails.

Great example