As professionals, we should focus on developing great technical solutions. But, these solutions need to solve real problems. At the end of the day, if we don’t deliver value, no matter how much effort we made, we will fail.
Let’s see three common mistakes developers do that prevent them from meeting the business needs.
Mistake #1 – Pay attention only to the technical aspects
[tweet]Yes, I know! We are technical people, and our primary concern should be technical stuff. Right? No. I don’t think so.[/tweet]
All technology that we use that business does not recognize as a benefit is a waste of time, talent, and money.
Recommended solution: Justify any technical solution you choose with a business need.
For example,
- You want to reduce the cost of adding new features. So, you will adopt TDD.
- You want to save user’s time. So, you use Angular/React/Vue.
Mistake #2 – Do not (even try to) speak the language of the business
If you want to justify your technical decisions with business arguments, you need to speak the business language.
Recommended Solution: Pay attention to the business vocabulary and adopt it. Develop and use a Ubiquitous Language. Do not even try to make business people understand technical vocabulary. It is waste of (valuable) time.
Mistake #3 – Resist to accept changes in the requirements
This one is difficult. Believe me; I know how frustrating it is. Sometimes, you will need to change everything. Sometimes, you will need to throw away many hours of work and thousands of lines of code.
Yes! The business world is dynamic and changes every time.
Managers and marketing people don’t understand how costly it is to change software.
Recommend Solution: Start your work knowing that the changes will come. Write code that is easy to read, understand and change. And, above all, stop segregating people. There is no “us and them.” Be professional and accept that everyone is in the same boat.
What you need to understand is: It is pointless to resist the change.
It’s time to action
If you do these three things, your life will be easier. As developers, we want to Share with me your opinions!
Also, you can subscribe to my contacts list. You will get a lot of technical and non-technical content. Only things that can help you to be a better professional.
Cover image from: Nathan Dumlao
