The Emotional Developer Intelligence: How To Recognize If You Are Creating Value
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“Once the computers are turned off, we really have nothing to show for”
Heard those words from a dear friend of mine in one of our many train conversations back in 2014.
He was right in a way.
As software developers, there is nothing more frustrating than to explain the value we are providing to people who do not understand it.
Have you ever seen a party for the developer who made the site 30% faster? But throw a sick UI component and you’ll be getting all the compliments on how cool the site/app is.
The most important part of all is this is not about who is more valuable nor this is a declaration of war to Front end developers.
This is about recognizing the value you provide/can provide to others.
Ask yourself these questions:
- What is the last project you are really proud of?
- What have you learned from it?
- Where can you make improvements?
- How does it help other people?
If you are the only one who can recognize the value of your piece of software, chances are you are the only one using it.
For example, have you ever installed a Git repository without instructions? It’s a pain. Especially if the documentation is not up-to-date.
Ask for feedback
- Showcase your work.
- Understand that not everyone will get it
- Find simple terms to describe your project
Recognize that people will not understand your project from the start. Use your network to leverage your feedback and ask if the pros or cons of your new project.
If you have made a plugin or a theme, ask if it was easy to use or if it need more documentation.
If you are optimizing a piece of code, ask if the code is easy to read.
Create content explaining your work
- Create videos/articles explaining your work
- Create simple tutorials…
