Though many disagree, and think of software development as a mundane, non-creative task, as Kevin Carlson@DDJ puts it aptly, it is a work of art!
(note the nested quotes! ;) )
Many of my non-IT friends have asked, how I keep myself interested and how I stand to sit (pun intended) in front of the PC for such long hours and not get burned out?! The reason for this question is partly, I guess, because not every developer that writes software, thinks of it as an art form, and hence most software automate mundane tasks .. users often do very boring stuff with computers .. stuff like filling forms, writing email etc.
For me, development has always been a joy. The sheer magic of creating something out of a void! Seeing an application morph from a bunch of requirements into a working product, and addressing the needs of a set of users (the users feeling their needs are addressed) is perhaps one of the greatest feeling one can experience.
It has been my good fortune to have done (atleast a little) good work in the last half-decade. Hope many more of such half-decades are yet to come.
Oh yeah! Managers, please stop trying to over optimize your estimation techniques, remember: An artist needs space; A team of artists, need space, time and money!
[tag]software development, blah-blah[/tag]