Read the full Product Engineer Manifesto at productengineer.org
Not Just Coders, but Builders
Picture this: engineers who don't just sp...
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The call for a balance between product thinking and technical execution is crucial. Product Engineers play a pivotal role in ensuring that the products they build align with the user's needs and contribute to the overall success of the product. The Product Engineer Manifesto is a great initiative to formalize and promote this mindset.
Thanks a lot for the kind words @fpaghar!
Very well explained 😍
The way to be a better product engineer is to ask the key questions and have teammates who will give you the key answers. In other words, not only you, but also your team needs to understand the product and the users.
I think we have achieved this very well at epilot.
Impressive take on defining and understanding about product engineering !!! I have personally felt that different roles associated directly or indirectly with software engineering like SDE, QA, data engineers, business analyst, product managers etc should have been amalgamated with product engineering as this is a building block of efficient softwares
Also we should take one step back from our current roles or designations to have the view of product engineers so we could see from customer's view along with a builder's view to grasp the user empathy
Key takeaway is "finding balance" !
Love it 😍
This post really resonates with me, especially the idea of Product Engineers taking a bigger role in both technical and product responsibilities. It reminds me of what Iman Rahmatizadeh (Firebase EM) said about developers starting by proposing projects, delivering them, analyzing the results, and finally monitoring. I’ve also seen similar expectations for senior engineers in companies like SoundCloud, where they act as builders, not just coders, and understand both the product and the customer.
AI has made this approach even more accessible. It allows smaller teams to take on bigger responsibilities by breaking products into smaller parts. Tools like ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot are great for speeding up some tasks, but engineers are still needed for critical work that AI can’t fully handle. For example:
1. Understanding the task: Engineers need to know the codebase well to avoid breaking things—AI can’t do this.
2. Writing maintainable code: AI helps, but engineers still have to ensure the code is clear and meets standards.
3. Managing dependencies and side effects: Engineers need to check that changes don’t impact other projects.
4. Writing and reviewing tests: AI can create tests, but you still need to give it detailed prompts, review the output, and make sure it’s clear.
5. Stakeholder approval: Engineers need to ensure the work meets the needs of users and the business.
That said, AI is super helpful for things like documentation, working with new libraries, or finding solutions quickly. For example, I used AI to help me build an MVP for a startup. It let me focus more on the business logic while handling technical tasks faster, even though it was just a small MVP.
Conclusion:
AI can definitely make projects faster, but how much depends on the size, dependencies, and standards of the project. It’s a great tool to help engineers focus on bigger responsibilities and creative problem-solving.
😮💨
@eterima
On top of "what" it is also important to know "how to hire a good product software engineer".