Are you working together with a developer, but have no idea what kind of developer they are? (Let’s call them Sam for the simplicity!) Are you afraid to ask? No problem! This test will help you to figure it out immediately!

Are you working together with a developer, but have no idea what kind of developer he or she is? (Let’s call him/her Sam for the simplicity!) Are you afraid to ask? No problem! This test will help you to find it out immediately!

Read the questions below and write a tally mark for the most appropriate answer!

What is on Sam’s screen beside Stackoverflow?

1.) Eye-catching colorful vertical waves of text with a black background

2.) Tiny working mobile phones

3.) Frankenstein’s software monster built up from a File Explorer and text editors surrounded by buttons everywhere

When Sam does a presentation, how many colors can be discovered on his slides?

1.) 3 or more, looks pretty nice BTW!

2.) 3

3.) Sam is presenting from Notepad++

What is special in Sam’s outfit?

1.) Sam is attached to his coffee mug

2.) In addition to the coffee mug, beard and slippers

3.) In addition to the coffee mug, beard and slippers, even if it violates the company dress code

Does Sam have a tattoo?

1.) Something angular

2.) There is something next to Sam’s heart. I’m not sure if it’s a fruit or the forehead of Steve Jobs

3.) There is a Metallica logo on Sam’s shoulder

When you ask about Sam’s task: Sam is ready, just waiting for the:

1.) UX designer to make more realistic expectations

2.) AppStore / PlayStore review

3.) The deploy process

What does Sam want to talk about with you?

1.) The UX designer should stay on the ground

2.) I can’t understand.

3.) Small details of your business logic

What does Sam want to talk about with other developers?

1.) New “frameworks”… constantly, whatever they are

2.) I can only recognize these words: activities, Oreo, KitKat, Marshmallow or “I”, “I”, “I”

3.) The only English words in Sam’s sentences are: “and”, “or” and “the”

What is Sam’s answer to “What is the color of my T-Shirt?”?

1.) “It’s cobalt, also known as #0047ab”

2.) “It’s cobalt”

3.) “It’s blue”

What’s Sam’s favorite question?

1.) Is this user interface pretty enough?

2.) Is this user interface smooth enough?

3.) Is this user interface logical enough?

What topic drives Sam mad?

1.) Supporting Internet Explorer from the next milestone

2.) You need a bit of help to install this APK on your iPhone

3.) When you said “e-mail” notification, you meant it has a yearly report and a chart in it

What profession would fit Sam in an alternative universe?

1.) Interior designer of a sci-fi spaceship

2.) Director of the Great Gadget Museum

3.) The most feared lawyer of the continent, who prosecutes the guilty, but protects the innocent

Is Sam talking about “refactoring” a lot?

1.) Absolutely!

2.) Unquestionably!

3.) Restlessly!

Does Sam think about a card trick until he/she finds out how it works?

1.) Breathlessly!

2.) Excitedly!

3.) Passionately!

What does Sam do, when you bring your mother-in-law’s laptop in a plastic bag, asking for fixing it?

No possible answers here, never do this! Seriously!

Results

If ‘1’ has the most marks, you are lucky! You identified a frontend developer! These guys are working on the user interface that you can see on your browser. They usually don’t have to design the outfit of the application, it’s made by the UI/UX designer. They have to make the working version of the drafts. It should be fast and pretty in multiple browsers and on multiple screen sizes. Next, to software development, they tend to be interested in colors, layouts, elegance, visibility, accessibility.

If you chose ‘2’ mostly: Sam can’t be anything else than a mobile developer! Similarly to the frontend developers, mobile developers are also working on the user interface, but they are producing mobile applications. They can be specialized for iPhone, for Android or for other platforms. Besides development, they have to take care of the different screen sizes, Android/iPhone versions and to make the application simple, understandable and fast.

If ‘3’ dominates your note: The strange creature you are trying to communicate with is a backend developer. Because backend developers are responsible for the kernel of your application, their job is less evident for an average person. They are responsible for serving user interfaces with data. They write the code, that generates the response for the user interactions or integrating your system with another. They often have to be abstract or thorough.

Aside from the joke, most developers are kind and would tell you gladly what they do. Don’t be afraid to ask :)