A software developer position has come a long way. We no longer just sit at a desk and type up logic that has been handed to us. A software developer’s role in a company now influences the entire company.
Software development affects the entire organization
As stated above, a software developer is so much more to a company now. Software developers are no longer chained to a desk in a darkened room by themselves coding the requirements that are handed to them. A software developer is just as important to a company as a marketing team, sales reps, customer service, etc. Developers should be included in all aspects of the project planning process. From talking with the customer, deciding requirements, to providing additional support and training.
Some key things that software developers can do are:
- Create the face of your company (website, ads, etc)
- Understand the customer needs
- Actually generate the product that the company is trying to sell
- Handle product delivery and updates
- Handle massive amounts of user data including identities
- Ensuring the products work as expected keeping everyone happy and building a solid image of the company
There are many more aspects that could be covered. Don’t let it go to your head, but understand that your work is critical to your organization’s success. Software development is really all about solving problems, filling a need, or provide a service. When the software developers are part of the entire process of creating the product then the company and customer will get a much more solid product. The more involved the software developer is the more powerful product will be generated.
As a developer request that you be more involved in every aspect of the design, planning, and creation process. As a company take a minute and start including your software developers in the entire process and see how much better the development process can be.