We Made Dogfooding a Contractual Obligation. Here’s What Happened
Photo by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash
Dogfooding is the practice of using one’s own products or services. As software developers, we are turned into users of our product.
Since ordinary users may find it difficult, to put issues into language that internal staff understand, this practice can be invaluable in developing a great user experience.
“My code is not only invincible but I develop user experiences that are perfect. Nothing I ever do can be improved, so we don’t need dogfooding for my work.
What is more, I don’t like dogs.”
My Situation
The Secret Developer was involved in a team meeting last week. The tech lead had been speaking with the tech boss and they’d arrived at a plan.
We wouldn’t normally ask, but we want you to create an account and use our product. It’s called dogfooding and we think it’s a good thing to find out problems with the product in production.
“The background to this is we had some production issues and nobody in the team seemed to know anything about it as they didn’t have access to the production build in development.
Frankly, this blog is full of sarcasm, but this is an example of a practice we should be ashamed of.”
The Facts Of The Matter
According to The Secret Developer.
“We have a contractual obligation to use our product. I’ll say that again. We have a contractual obligation for our staff to use our product and I’m very surprised that they don’t seem aware of this.
One of our developers said they tried to create an account and couldn’t for some reason.
I took that to mean they couldn’t be bothered.
I understand that our contractors (who are rapidly increasing in number) might not care about the product. But this behavior by our permanent staff is impressively poor.
If you don’t care about your contractual obligations, how can I believe anything you say?”
Dogfooding Should Be Essential…for quality
“If we want to make sure our software works (well) we should use it ourselves. We know the technical details of the matters at hand, so we can actually make a difference by solving the defects we find. We might even be able to find issues that ‘normal’ users find hard to either find or describe.
If you don’t add value to your work perhaps you shouldn’t be there.”
That isn’t to say that dogfooding is mandatory. Far from it. However, it is an important component of producing quality software.
The Right Fit
“I think what we can really learn about this situation, is that you really need to find a company, that fits in with you and what you believe.
A company like the one described above may be suitable if you’re not that bothered about the product.
It’s down to you to confirm this at the interview!”
The fit at a company can increase the probability of moving up the hierarchy gaining promotions and even being happy in your job.
Tips To Confirm Company Values At Interview
Follow these to identify if a company is right for you:
Read their values before an interview
Research the company culture on Glassdoor or similar through employee reviews
Ask pertinent questions at the interview based on their values
Visit the office. There is nothing better than going there to get a feel for the company and its true culture and meeting future colleagues
Conclusion
Dogfooding is a great way to get involved in the product you are producing. In most circumstances, it is not a bad thing.
“Unfortunately most companies don’t always take engaging in their own product seriously. I would actually go so far as to say it is individual developers who are not taking their responsibilities seriously.
Isn’t it time they did?”