Interesting quote from this ACM Queue interview with Werner Vogels, CTO of Amazon:
Giving developers operational responsibilities has greatly enhanced the quality of the [Amazon Web] services, both from a customer and a technology point of view. The traditional model is that you take your software to the wall that separates development and operations, and throw it over and then forget about it. Not at Amazon. You build it, you run it. This brings developers into contact with the day-to-day operation of their software. It also brings them into day-to-day contact with the customer. This customer feedback loop is essential for improving the quality of the service.
I talked about this general shift in the developer’s role in Web Development 2.0 and a follow-up. Since publishing those pieces, I keep hearing from developers who say their jobs have changed even more dramatically than I described. Werner’s comment fits right in with that.