6 Essential Software Engineering Tips

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Software engineering is a difficult game, and we should all accept help where we can get it.

So, to my colleagues, I extend you the hand of experience. I’m here to help you increment your competency count by presenting to you 6 essential software engineering tips.

So, listen up…

Master the Basics

Understanding the basics of software development is vital, speeds development and helps you pick up new techniques and tools quickly. 

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We are under constant pressure to code new features and squash bugs to deadlines and it is easy to forget the underlying principles behind what we do. Arguably this has become worse with the advent of AI providing shortcuts to hardworking software engineers.

Knowing the fundamentals means you can reason about problems and resolve issues before they occur. If you want to go even faster learn to type and supercharge your interface with the machine. Ultimately understanding the code deeply means writing cleaner, more effective code, and generating fewer bugs.

Adopt Systems Thinking

I think that software engineers are at their most effective when they think widely about the team’s work rather than zooming in on their own contribution. Thinking about the impact of decisions on the team will help to make code that is maintainable and delivers real value to the whole team.

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If you are thinking of your impact, you will also avoid being a jerk!

I want you to think of the last bug you solved. Perhaps it was a silly slip from someone on the team, but who reviewed the work? How did the process let this error happen?

If you can think of ways of understanding the system, there are opportunities to make sure this type of problem doesn’t happen again. Keep helping stop the team make errors and you’ll probably be promoted to the next level. Happy days!

Write Thoughtful Code

Every line of code you write is a line of code that you’ll need to maintain (and understand) later. 

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If you are mindful of the fact that all code will (eventually) become legacy code, you’ll adopt a better attitude to writing code.

Thoughtful code also means not writing code. The best line of code is the one you didn’t add to the code base — zero maintenance and zero problems. Rather than studiously writing code late into the night that may (or may not be) good, think about what code is necessary and how it might be best pushed into the codebase.

Being thoughtful about code also means being thoughtful about documentation. The person who maintains your code in 6 months might just be you — so be kind to that person.

Practice Trial Before Error

It is tempting to try to ask for help when given a task.

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This can even be encouraged in your work environment. I remember a time where I wanted to refactor some awful code and got told to ask the person who wrote it “and understood the code end to end”. I might as well ask Dracula how best to look after a blood bank.

If you try to solve a problem before asking for help there is a good chance you can learn something from the problem solving process. Also, if you go onto needing help you ensure that any questions you ask are good ones as you’ve already hammered out the “stupid questions”

If you try to solve a problem before asking for help, you’ll ensure that any question you ask is a good one. This applies if you’re working in a team, completing open-source work or risking asking on Stack Overflow.

Want to ask something silly? Use AI for that in the first instance. What to solve a problem? Try it yourself, then feedback to the group on your findings.

Discover Your Passion

Understand what drives you in programming rather than corporate-mandated “passion”. Then use that to get better at your job and produce better code and better solutions.

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Whether it’s the joy of solving puzzles or the satisfaction of building something from scratch, knowing your motivation will help sustain you through the challenges which are sure to come in your career, no matter how long your career might be.

Chart Your Own Course

Don’t measure your progress against others, rather try to be the best version of yourself every day. It doesn’t matter what you learn, but it does matter that you do learn each and every day.

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Looking at other developers’ LinkedIn profiles makes it look like they’ve had an easy ride. Now, let me tell you that simply isn’t true, everyone has had difficulties and challenges. It’s up to you to find your own way in this hectic life of a software engineer.

Chart your own course, and work towards being the best software developer you can be.

Conclusion

If you’ve read through these tips you’re likely a successful software developer.

That’s because you care and are working to be a better you. Well done!