> But when it comes to developing software, I get the distinct impression that people think, “Hey, how hard could this be?! We just write down a few instructions about what we want the computer to do, hit the execute button and the, ‘Blamo!’, we get our answer!”

It depends on who you hang with :) I am 99% sure that 99.9% of people don't think like that. From my experience, people see computer programmers as nerdy mystical wizards and tend to say that they haven't got the slightest idea on how someone would even begin to make software.