The User Doesn't Care – But you should
9 hours ago
- #user perspective
- #software development
- #code quality
- Customers and users are often said not to care about underlying technical details like testing, tech stacks, or code elegance, only that the product works.
- This viewpoint is criticized as shortsighted because it ignores downstream effects such as performance, bugs, and the speed of fixes and feature additions, which are impacted by code quality.
- Poor code quality can make resolving issues harder and slower, though large companies with market dominance may overlook these challenges.
- The belief that only first-order effects matter is seen as a folk wisdom in software, potentially stemming from ego defense mechanisms where individuals downplay skills they lack.
- Software development involves balancing multiple concerns, from technical to user experience, all contributing to success or failure, and dismissing technical rigor is unwise.