How to be a Product Minded Software Engineer
My learnings on how to not just be a software engineer, but a product minded software engineer
When we are early in career, we focus on what is assigned to us and the only focus is to get stuff done. That’s what we are taught in universities and bootcamps and we tend to follow the teachings. But unfortunately, we are not paid to just solve technical challenges, we are paid to create impact and the possibility of creating impact increases rapidly when you become product minded.
Being Product Minded = More Impact = More Money
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In lot of companies, all major product decisions are taken by product managers who would define requirements and then engineers come into play for scaling, implementation, efficiency and other technical aspect. Very few questions on why we are even doing it and takes interest in knowing about impact of the product decisions made. That’s what we want to become.
Before we start, let’s know more about you
Who is a Product Minded Engineer ?
Product-minded engineers stand out by actively engaging in understanding a product's business value and contributing to product decisions.
Contrary to the assumption that these engineers must be senior, their distinguishing factor is a profound curiosity about the purpose behind building a product.
These engineers excel in identifying both engineering challenges and product-related issues, making a significant impact on the successful creation of a product through active engagement with its purpose.
How to be a Product Minded Engineer ?
Becoming a product minded engineer is a continuous learning process and all great product minded engineers I have met have these common traits:
Passion and curiosity for product
These engineers keen interest in the business and the product, they often suggest alternative product approaches that may work better.
They often ask questions about the 'why' behind product decisions, understand the ROI of features, and think about how to measure the impact.
Provides both technical and business solutions
They consider not only technical edge cases but also handle edge cases from a business point of view.
They think about user scenarios and provide technical as well as business solutions early on during the product discovery phase.
Customer Centric
They understand how people use the product and how the product works as a whole.
They know the end users well, whether they're customers or internal stakeholders.
They think differently about how users behave, considering what's efficient and what adds value in the products.
Ownership Mindset
Many engineers complete a project and move on, focusing on maintenance or new tasks. A product-minded engineer goes beyond, actively tracking user behavior and business metrics after implementation, fostering a deeper understanding.
Product-minded engineers take ownership and persistently inquire about the impact of their work. They engage with product managers, data scientists, and customer support to grasp real-world user interactions, allowing them to suggest improvements if needed.
Ask for Feedback
Product minded engineers often give valuable product suggestions and take feedback from PMs and designers about their suggestions.
They are always looking for constructive feedback to hone their product skills which eventually translates in their work.
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Yah it's nice. I got a lot of out of it
Great piece!
I have to say that being product minded is not enough; you need to be in organization that value this otherwise you might look intrusive/nosy