What is the purpose of software engineering (and software engineers)?
My golden rule of software engineering: our job as engineers is not to turn product specs into code. Our job is to deliver the maximum value for the company at the lowest cost.
Rod Begbie, Estimating Your Way to Success
Mike Crittenden agrees:
You were hired to help the company accomplish its goals, and your role in these goals is probably far more complex than just “write beautiful code that works well.”
Mike Crittenden, The Professional Coworker
What are the goals software engineers should strive for? They are these six things:
- Protect revenue
- Increase revenue
- Manage cost
- Increase brand value
- Make the product remarkable
- Provide more value to your customers
When asked to solve a problem, we need to ask which goal we’re accomplishing. If the answer is “none of the above,” it’s time to raise an alert about the task’s value.