Product-Minded Engineering 101
If you are looking at engineering as just developing code, this article is for you. Product-Minded Engineering is not a concept or new thing. Instead, Product-Minded Engineering is an inherent and acquired skill. When you see that the product isn’t just about writing code, you’re welcome to the club.
In our days the tech companies developing great products. They are solving great points and helping people who use this product. The product-utility relationship is the most significant measure of the value of a product. Unfortunately, we can’t improve this measure with just software development. We must understand “What is the product.” Product is more complicated than what we know. Also more understandable than what we develop.
End of the day product never would be completed because If we are working as Product-Minded engineer, we know the product like a mountain range.
When you climb to the top, you will see the new top of a new mountain, and you start the climb again a new top. You have to understand “Why I am climbing new top.” The key is why. You never find to answer because when you answer why you will find a new why question. So your new fellow is “why” on this endless journey. If the engineers are giving 5/10 effort, you must provide 10/10 effort. I love this quote “pressure makes diamonds.”
I tried the entrance for Product-Minded Engineering. To keep it short without further ado, so I divided the topics into three main issues.
Your new fellow is “WHY”
As I mentioned above, your new fellow is why. So when we started to ask this question, we will explore the unexplored sides of the product.
We start to develop these unexplored sides of the product, but we never stop asking why. So we have endless unknown sides.
We will experience incredible satisfaction when we see the first unexplored side working on the product.
Then the asking question of why will turn out to be a behavior that comes from within.
Discuss with the team
When we found to unexplored side, discuss the issue with the team. The team is looking from different sides, and they are giving an opinion about sides we haven’t seen. Sometimes the things we find may not be accurate. Excellent communication with the team helps us at this point. Don’t discuss with just the development team. It would be best if you got an opinion from other groups. Probably the product team has experienced more than you. Most of the time, it will be good for you to work elbow to elbow with this team.
Work follow
The new side you find decided to develop, and it’s finished. It’s working on the production. Now you start to follow this feature and get feedback from the real world and users. Maybe this feature is not as good in real life as in the idea stage. Maybe your project team will be changed. This is your responsibility for the product because you aren’t just an engineer; you are a Product-Minded Engineer. It doesn’t matter you would be another team or another project. You should check the features side by side, and you need to giving feedback to the product team or manager.
Congratulations! You are open the door going to Product-Minded Engineering. In the following article, we will go into this subject in more detail; stay tuned.
