As software engineers, we often focus on “what” to build and “how” to do it. Yet “why” is an important question, often left to other roles

Framing engineering discussions with a business perspective

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2024-04-24 20:00:08

As software engineers, we often focus on “what” to build and “how” to do it. Yet “why” is an important question, often left to other roles like product managers or business leads. In many cases, software engineers aren’t expected to consider the business in their engineering decisions until more senior levels.

Is it surprising? No. After all, we probably shouldn’t expect every engineer to think about business-critical impact or top-line/bottom-line impact during their day-to-day work. Even for line managers, the expectation is often on execution rather than any personal impact on business metrics.

However, this lack of emphasis does not mean that engineers at all levels should avoid using, or be deprived of, business framing. That’s what this doc is about: framing engineering discussions with a business perspective, with the purpose of guiding, simplifying, and expediting those discussions.

Often, engineers feel deeply connected with a focus on the user. Incorporating business perspectives into engineering discussions is an important way to incorporate user-centered product development into everyday decision making.