Thinking Outside the Code

In this episode of the Product Driven podcast, host Matt Watson is joined by Nax, the VP of Engineering at Full Scale, to discuss one of the most significant challenges developers face—focusing too much on code and not enough on the product. The conversation highlights key insights on bridging the gap between product development and engineering to create better outcomes for developers and users.

Key Takeaways:

1. Ask the Right Questions

• Developers must move beyond just coding and start asking broader questions. Understanding why something is being built, rather than just what, helps reduce surprises and deliver a better product. Nax emphasizes the importance of validating assumptions early on to avoid unnecessary rework.

1. Talk to Users and Customers

• Developers need to have more empathy for users. Watching users interact with a product or reviewing support tickets can help engineers understand pain points. This connection improves the quality of the software and makes the development process more user-centric.

1. Get Involved in Product Planning

• Early involvement in product planning helps developers grasp the bigger picture. Instead of just following the requirements, developers should understand the goals and expectations to build more scalable and user-friendly products.

1. Take Ownership

• Ownership means seeing projects through to the end, not just finishing the coding aspect. Developers should take pride in monitoring, testing, and ensuring their code works in production, which leads to a better overall product experience.

1. Focus on the Product, Not Just the Code

• It’s crucial for developers to think from a product usability standpoint, rather than focusing solely on technical aspects. Nax shares examples where focusing only on the code resulted in less user-friendly products.

1. Simpler Code is Better

• While complexity can sometimes seem like the mark of a skilled developer, simpler code leads to fewer bugs, easier maintenance, and happier teams. Matt and Nax emphasize the importance of keeping things simple unless complexity is required for performance or security reasons.

Additional Resources:

• Watch Matt’s previous episode with Chris Atkinson on the importance of teaching developers the big picture here: https://youtu.be/Fi2WRkQTFdg

Quotes:

• Nax: "Simpler code means fewer bugs, easier updates, and happier engineers."
• Matt Watson: "It’s not done until it’s in production and the user loves it."

Stay tuned for more insightful discussions on aligning product development with engineering. Thanks for listening!