Image of What do developers do to support software products

ADVERTISEMENT

Table of Contents

Introduction

What do software engineers and product development professionals do to support a software product? Most of the time, they’re involved in some form of testing.

What Do Developers Do To Support Software Products?

In the case of software products, this means that they write unit tests and run them on real software products under various scenarios. If a product is not robust and has unit testing, it will fail to meet its business purpose. For example, if a new version of a web browser was to be released, business owners would need to know if it could handle all of the anticipated user traffic.

A series of automated unit testing suites called integration testing suites are written to test web applications. These suites typically include a collection of integration tests that check for missing, ambiguous, or hard-to-detect issues that can come up while a website is being built or submitted to the search engines. The suite then checks each of these issues individually. When a product passes the tests, it will pass all of the integration tests as well. Software products usually have an integrated testing manager, or ART, that directs the software developers to test each area individually.

What do product engineering professionals do to support a product? This involves building prototypes. Often referred to as “as is” product development, prototypes let the testing team know what the product will look like. In addition, the prototype lets the testers get a hands-on experience with the product so they can ensure that it meets the requirements of end users. Product engineering also includes the process of evaluating the product’s functionality from a user perspective. This is called end user acceptance testing.

What do software engineers do to support a software product? Software engineers are responsible for writing code to convert an idea into computer code. Once the code is written, it goes through a series of tests to ensure that the software is correct and meets the needs of the customer. These needs may be defined by the business or the customer.

What do software engineers do to support a software product? Software engineers implement the software, or derive it from a specification. Then they debug the software to determine its accuracy and performance. This includes fixing bugs, analyzing code, and verifying the business need for the software. Software engineers may contribute code, develop modules, or work as part of a team to enhance a product. They can specialize in one of these areas or work on a team to build both.

What do product development professionals do to support a product? Product development professionals take the specifications for a new product and identify a group of individuals, typically a small team, that will be working on the product during its life cycle. The team works together to define the scope of the product and develop requirements for it. Requirements fulfillment involves ensuring that the product meets the customer’s requirements.

What do product owners do to support their software? A product owner, also called the executive producer, takes responsibility for managing and controlling the product development process. He or she sets up the production environment, designs the product, makes sure it is manufactured, and delivers it to customers. A product developer is involved in the product development process but does not have ownership of the product. She is the “ring master” in ensuring all components are produced according to specifications and that each team and department completes the task to their specifications.

What do end-users do to support software products? End users are users who will use the software. They will need the software to perform their regular activities, such as completing forms, communicating with other users, and editing data. They will also require software to help them streamline their workflow and increase their productivity. These end users may be users who write applications for their own company or they may be freelancers contracted by an external company to do work on behalf of the company. In any case, end users will need a way to run the application effectively, as well as efficiently handle and store it on their computer.

Summary

What do software engineers and product development professionals do to support a software product? Most of the time, they’re involved in some form of testing.

Next Steps

If you're interested in learning more about the basics of programming, coding, and software development, check out our Coding Essentials Guidebook for Developers, where we cover the essential languages, concepts, and tools that you'll need to become a professional developer.

Thanks and happy coding! We hope you enjoyed this article. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out to jacob@initialcommit.io.

Final Notes