Users Will Save the Software Development Industry
Photo by Nery Montenegro on Unsplash
A few years back The Secret Developer was invited to a Slack channel at work. For our seasoned software developer blogger, this is a relatively unusual event. What isn't unusual is the disdain that software developers hold their clients in.
“It didn’t cross anyone’s mind that our clients pay for our office. Machines. Table tennis table. Paychecks.
Not only do software developers I’ve worked with dislike their customers, but they also dislike each other.
This culture is damaging to us all and means that the roof ultimately might fall in on us software developers.”
Ignore Customers at your Peril
The Secret Developer went shopping for a new T-shirt recently and saw something rather unexpected among the threads.
It was this emblazed on a sign:
No refunds — No returns- No trying
“Yeah, I went shopping for a shirt recently.
I didn’t know if the shirt would fit, so couldn’t buy it at this store. I’m never going to shop there again.
I think their attitude towards their customers stinks and they won’t be in business much longer.
I also think the same applies to software developers. The way we treat customers stinks and at the minimum is disrespectful. It’s costing big tech big.”
Software Development Culture
The culture
The Secret Developer believes the culture around software development sucks. Developers often think that they are smarter than others and are keen to let people know about this.
“We’ve been cruel to customers for a long time. When Steve Jobs told iPhone users that they were holding their overpriced phones wrong people kowtowed. They did the same when he told them they didn’t get it (whatever it is).
This attitude has permeated through to the codeface of front-line development.
I see developers say users are wrong. In code review, they say the reviewer is wrong.
There is this pressure to never admit weakness and to pretend to be the smartest person in the room.
This is a problem because customers generally have the answers to the problems we face as software developers. Problem solvers should look for solutions from anywhere they can, rather than thinking that they automatically have all of the answers themselves.”
DEVS: Please listen to your users
If you are logging your FE crashes, do you blame the user? Do you blame the device the user has? Do you blame a colleague or the previous developers who worked in your project?
The Secret Developer believes there are better ways to approach problems.
“A crash is a terrible user experience and might even point to other problems with the product.
You don’t get better feedback than how your customers use your product. Reviews shouldn’t be there to make you feel good but should be good for you to find out how your product is used and what you can actually improve.
I for one like to listen to customers. I want to get better and our teams to get better.
Imagine how better this industry would be if we all took this attitude to improvement?”
Conclusion
The Secret Developer believes that a poor culture has grown up around software development where blame flows out from the technical front line. They believe we could do better if we changed this and listened to our customers and improved.
“Come on people. We can do better. Isn’t that what agile is all about?”