Creating value for customers - understanding context

Creating value for customersLukasz Karwacki

Managing Director at Sunscrapers

“Few companies that installed computers to reduce the employment of clerks have realized their expectations... They now need more, and more expensive clerks even though they call them operators or programmers.”

- Peter Drucker

Question: What is the purpose

of a software development company?

Common answer: To develop great software

“We’re software experts”

“We’ve got 100 iOS developers”

“We never compromise quality”

…but is that really the purpose?

purpose

develop great software

use technology to solve problems

it’s not about developing a patentable

recommendation algorithm

but rather enabling customers to make better

purchasing decisions

it’s not about using the latest framework

but rather finding ways to increase

application’s speed or reliability

it’s not about us

but rather them

Conclusion: software development is not an end in itself

but a means to an end

Lesson 1: software quality is a required necessity

Good practices help us:

• make the best use of available resources• develop better solutions• embrace the change

Lesson 2: software development is meaningless

when detached from the business context

Lack of business layer results in the popular notion of offshore companies, and…

…dead projects

If tech comes together with business the quality of code matters

If developer and entrepreneur work together the process matters

if tech companies egolessly realise they exist to serve higher needs great projects are accomplished

A software developer needs to understand client’s business, goals and motivation

in order to make the right decisions

Only then he shall not be called a clerk

but an engineer

Thank you @cadzik