The. Minimalist . Developer

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2025-01-20 11:30:08

Ever since I started programming, almost 20 years ago, there is this idea that a tool, or method can completely, or at least partially, replace a skilled developer. At first, it was the visual tools like the defunct Dreamweaver, from the family of the WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) tools.

Quickly, it became clear that it was not as simple as allowing people to paint tables with a mouse would be enough. As the years went by, the applications only got more complex, and with it the wish to allow people to build them without developers.

Initially, I thought it was purely financially motivated. If you can make it simpler and/or faster, it will be cheaper, but I believe there is more to it.

Due to the nature of what we do, we usually work detached from the other departments of the company, mostly because it is an area that requires a lot of context from many concepts and tools to understand it. That is one of the main “hidden” points that makes the engineering role so important to be replaced by AI.

Often, the word of an engineering team is the showstopper of executives, creatives, and product people wet dream. Your idea might be fantastic, but if the engineering team deems it not feasible, or if it takes too long to implement, it might be in some way or another dead in the water.