Is a product developer the same as a programmer or a software engineer? Not really. Even though both work toward the same purpose – that of creating high-quality software. The difference stems from the fact that not all code becomes an application or gets integrated into a product. And that’s a crucial distinction!
The borders are constantly shifting too. For instance, in “The Art of Agile Development” book (written by James Shore), Bas Vodde explains how Scrum teams are transitioning from programming to product development. Today, in most Scrum teams, a “product developer” understands the “customer” domain and requirements and helps drive the effort forward.
How do product developers differ from programmers? A programmer or software engineer writes code and creates the business logic for how the code is supposed to behave and the outcomes it should deliver. For instance, a front-end developer is responsible for designing the workflow and defining user interactions.
On the other hand, a product developer is, in some way or other, responsible for product design, development, and testing. We can say that they are responsible for helping the folks who will use their software achieve the outcomes they desire. That’s why product developers are usually involved across the entire product development lifecycle.
Here are 5 reasons why product and application development companies recruit people who present themselves as product developers as opposed to those comfortable with being termed software programmers:
- Goal setting skills
With the emergence of complex business applications, product development teams need to fold in a mix of both short-term and long-term goals for their application. Product developers can work closely with business stakeholders in devising long-term goals for their applications. With this scale of brainstorming, product team members can bring in “fresh ideas” that could lead to a “breakthrough” feature.
At the same time, product developers can work on short-term goals that can deliver a more flexible approach to application development. This allows development teams to “change course” to adapt to changing customer needs and market requirements.
- Engagement with other stakeholders
Software programmers do constantly need to engage with other developers or product requirement specialists. However, even beyond that, with product developers, companies can encourage collaboration between development teams and other business stakeholders including customers. This gives them complete clarity on what customers need from the product – and why they need it.
This engagement is crucial for building high-quality products with relevant features. Product developers can also engage with business stakeholders continuously during the product design and development phase. With their technical skills, they are better equipped to:
- Implement product features
- Adhere to deadlines.
- Meet their long-term and short-term goals.
- Problem-solving skills
Compared to most software engineers, product developers almost always focus on the “larger picture” of solving business problems for customers. Product developers understand why customers purchase their products to solve their real-life problems. This helps them “think” of the importance of every product (or feature) – and not simply write code based on the logic provided to them or designed by them. They are often thinking in terms of adding a feature to enhance the functionality or usability of the product.
With their problem-solving abilities, product developers can address questions like:
- Which business problem is the application designed to tackle?
- Which is the target customer profile (or business user) that’s currently facing this problem?
- Which product feature can address this problem?
Instead of focusing on unnecessary features, product developers take time and opportunity to get and incorporate customer feedback into the product. This enables companies to save both time and money in product development.
- Product Ownership
Software developers do not usually own any product or application. Their role is to write efficient code, and they do a great job of that. On the other hand, the best product developers take complete ownership of the product and development process. Besides focusing on improving product quality, product developers are responsible for performance and customer satisfaction.
Besides effective product management, product ownership is also about analyzing its business impact and the user’s experience. Overall, product developers define product ownership by including the following tasks:
- Understanding the stakeholder’s requirements and needs.
- Determining if this need is worth the effort.
- Devising the best solution for their needs.
- Sharing an understanding of the solution with other stakeholders.
- Multiple product dimensions
Effective product development is simply not just about coding or product engineering. Application development companies must factor in multiple dimensions to create a successful product. This includes elements like:
- Product ideas and solutions
- Market and business analysis
- User experience and design
- Sales and marketing
With a product developer, companies can deliver equal importance to each of these dimensions. For instance, a highly functional product cannot deliver a user experience without an intuitive or user-friendly interface. Similarly, through effective communications with customers, they can understand which product feature offers them the best value (or not).
Conclusion
Enterprises often use roles like “software programmer” or “product developer” interchangeably as if they mean the same thing. As we have seen, this is far from the truth. When it comes to building complex enterprise applications or cutting-edge software products, the folks building these teams and provisioning expert resources must understand the difference in the value proposition that product developers offer as compared to other technical roles.
With its rich application development heritage, Trinus understands the right technical professional for your next product development project. We know how to build a team that works to fully understand your resource requirements – along with the specific skills and expertise that your project needs. If you need help with building your next product or application, connect with us today.