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Discussion on: How to tell a Junior Dev that what they've done is wrong?

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SUBRAMANIAN

This is a great tip @inhuofficial , thanks!

Does this rule apply for telling senior devs too. I'm someone with 8 yrs of exp. I've seen some of my colleagues at work who are more expeirenced than me are still doing some basic amature mistakes. How do I tell them in this case?

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GrahamTheDev • Edited

Tougher with seniors unless you are also a senior or have worked with them long enough and closely enough you know how to frame things with them.

The same principle applies of knowing how they prefer to receive feedback but you have to also occasionally (not often I would hope) work around “seniority complex” as I call it 🤣.

Best bet is similar approach, but when actually addressing the problem go very much evidence based. Find articles from authority figures, or stats on how much time doing X would save or show them how you did it and explain why you think it would benefit the team if you all did that going forward.

Also “give them breadcrumbs” to lead them down the path you want them to take. Don’t tell it to them as “do this”.

Do “I noticed you do X, but I was reading this and this that said to do Y instead. Can we have a look at this together?” And then make your case.

Most seniors will take everything on board and welcome it, you just have to bear in mind they have had 30 people tell them the best way to centre a div, so if you are number 31, you better make sure you show them why your approach using X is better due to greater browser support, better consistency in results and flexibility etc.

Also note this is very much for the few senior devs who everyone knows are awkward. For 90% of them same principles apply, I just wanted to give you a framework that works for those who are less open to feedback.

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SUBRAMANIAN

gotcha! That totally makes sense. Thanks again for the tip @inhuofficial