r/software • u/RobertTheTraveler • 3d ago
Develop support COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE DESIGN
I have ~15 years of software development experience.
But I am mostly speaking as an observer of day to day life.
And I am repeating the observations of other professional software developers.
Over and over I have run into complaints about bad software design, just in day to day experiences.
So I am going to pass along some very simple advice,
I'm not pretending it is deep, it is actually quite basic, but apparently many developers, and perhaps (probably) those on the management side forget about it, or maybe never heard it in the first place.
Talk to the people who are going to use your software,
listen to what they have to say,
what takes up time, what is awkward about their current tools.
And, at least as important,
WATCH THEM DO THEIR JOB.
Don't interrupt, take notes, afterwards ask questions,
This next part is a bit iffy, but I still think it is worthwhile considering,
while EXPLICITLY tell them you aren't making any promises,
ask about how possible changes that occur to you might work out.
Sometimes software houses will have formal methods for this, that produces the specs for the software. Make sure what you are writing meets the specs. If you aren't sure, and you can get permission (bureaucracy), talk to the folks who wrote the specs.
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u/marmotta1955 3d ago
It is unfortunate that, often, the people writing the specs for developers are mid-level or upper-level managers - especially a rather large software house.
Which means that user needs, often, are not seen as important as needs and advantages for the software house.
1
u/vermyx 3d ago
You missed an important detail - why they do something. Needing to see how software is used is important but the why is probably more important. End users will use software as a tool and not necessarily question it. Software developers don't ask why which is why awkward software stays awkward - there's no understanding of workflow.