Stephen Ombuya’s Post

Ever wondered what separates a software architect from a software engineer? Both roles are crucial, yet they serve different purposes in the tech world. A software architect designs the strategic framework, envisioning vast structures within the digital landscape. On the other hand, a software engineer brings these visions to life by meticulously crafting every line of code to build robust, functional applications across platforms. Why should you care? Knowing whether your project needs the visionary expertise of an architect or the precision of an engineer can dramatically influence its outcome. Our latest article dives deep into these roles, providing a comparative overview, detailed role descriptions, and insights on achieving the right balance for your project. Don't miss out on mastering these crucial distinctions. Boost your project's success by choosing the right expert. 🔗 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/du8tEQUv #TechInsights #SoftwareDevelopment #TechCareers #IntelliSoft #Outsourcing #SoftwareArchitect #SoftwareEngineer

I like to think of us—developers and architects—as professionals. While we don’t have formal certification processes like doctors in hospitals, that’s probably because our field evolves so quickly that no one has managed to compile a static list of requirements for all developers. But being a professional goes beyond maintaining high standards, knowing your craft, and continuously investing in your knowledge and (soft) skills.   Being a professional also means acting like one. You take responsibility for your actions, provide constructive feedback, challenge ideas with real alternatives (instead of simply blocking them), show up on time for meetings, and keep them on schedule. But there’s more to it—when asked to act unprofessionally, you stand your ground. If a manager, tech lead, or product owner asks you to skip unit tests without valid reasoning and a plan to address it soon, challenge it. If they suggest bypassing code reviews to merge a pull request immediately, challenge it. If they downplay a critical vulnerability in a dependency, challenge that too, and ensure there’s a plan to address it.   This doesn’t mean you need to be a stubborn developer. It means taking your responsibilities as a professional seriously, understanding the circumstances behind requests, and agreeing only if there’s a reliable plan to resolve any concerns promptly. If there isn’t, make sure to formally record your disagreement to avoid repercussions—or, if necessary, find a job that values professionalism. #lessonslearned #consultancy #avivasolutions #professionalism #softskills

The Power of HLD in Software Engineering..!!🌟 High-Level design (HLD) in software engineering plays a critical role in the overall development process. Here are some key points highlighting its importance: 1. Guidance and Roadmap: High-level design provides a roadmap for the development team, outlining the overall architecture, structure, and major components of the software system. It serves as a guide for developers to understand how different modules interact and how the system will be implemented. 2. Communication: It serves as a communication tool among stakeholders, including developers, designers, project managers, and clients. By visualizing the system's architecture and major components, high-level design helps all parties involved to have a common understanding of the software requirements and functionalities. 3. Modifiability and Scalability: A well-designed high-level architecture allows for easier modification and scalability of the software system. It enables developers to understand how changes or new features can be integrated into the existing system without causing significant disruptions. 4. Risk Mitigation: High-level design helps identify potential risks and dependencies early in the development process. By breaking down the system into manageable components and analyzing their interactions, developers can anticipate and address potential challenges before they become major issues. 5. Resource Planning: It aids in resource planning by providing insights into the required skill sets, technologies, and resources needed to develop the software system. This allows project managers to allocate resources efficiently and make informed decisions about timelines and budgets. 6. Quality Assurance: High-level design serves as a basis for quality assurance activities such as code reviews, testing, and validation. By establishing clear design principles and guidelines, it helps ensure that the software system meets the desired quality standards and specifications. 7. Documentation: It serves as a foundation for detailed design documentation, including technical specifications, diagrams, and architecture documents. This documentation is crucial for maintaining and enhancing the software system over its lifecycle, as well as for onboarding new team members. high-level design provides a strategic framework for software development, enabling teams to plan, communicate, and execute complex projects more effectively while reducing risks and ensuring the quality and scalability of the final product. #HighLevelDesign #SoftwareEngineering #JavaBackendDeveloper

Am I the only one that enjoys reviewing pull requests? A pull request is the tangible output (code) of a software engineer's mental model that solves some business problem. You may have discussed your proposed changes with the team but a pull request puts it down to the finest detail and opens it up for comments, change proposals and discussion. I feel like you can tell alot about a software engineering team by their pull requests or review process. Often times, a developer might ask "please approve my pull request". This nudges people to approve ("LGTM") instead of actually review the code. Even in the case where you might not know what their code is doing, I always encourage engineers to ask questions where they might not know. Perhaps the author of the pull request does not know either, which should ring some alarm bells. Sometimes you get great suggestions from others, which may not always be the most relevant to your change but can be noted down for a future contribution. I think its also a good indicator of culture: if a junior can make comments and suggestions on a senior's pull request then you're in a good place. Ideas should win, not people. It can take quite a bit of time out of your day to review everyone's pull requests but i think its important to spend more time at this point in the Software Development LifeCycle. This is your first quality gate, and the earlier you catch things the better. I've also learnt so much in my career by simply reading my own and others' pull request comments.

Software Engineering vs. Software Development: What's the Difference? When discussing the world of software, you’ve likely heard the terms "Software Engineering" and "Software Development" used interchangeably. While they both involve building software, they have distinct roles and responsibilities that shape how technology is developed and maintained. Software Development: At its core, software development focuses on writing code to create functional applications. Developers are hands-on, building software solutions that solve specific problems. They design, code, test, and fix bugs to ensure that the software works as intended. It’s a creative process where developers bring ideas to life, often working on both the front-end (what users see) and back-end (the server-side logic). Software Engineering: Software engineering, on the other hand, takes a more structured approach. Engineers apply engineering principles to software creation, focusing on the entire system lifecycle. This includes planning, designing, testing, and maintaining complex software systems. They ensure that the software is scalable, secure, and sustainable over time. Software engineers think beyond just the code-they look at the architecture and how all parts of the system fit together. Key Differences: Developers focus on creating functional software solutions. Engineers ensure that software is well-designed, maintainable, and able to grow with evolving needs. Both roles are essential in today's tech world. Developers make software that works, while engineers build systems that last. Whether you're interested in development or engineering, both paths offer exciting opportunities in the ever-evolving world of technology. Are you more of a developer or an engineer? Let us know in the comments! #SoftwareEngineering #SoftwareDevelopment #TechCareers #Programming #Engineering #FutureOfTech

OVER ENGINEERING As an experienced software developer, I’ve come to realize that over-engineering is often the root of many problems in software development. Over-engineering, or the use of overly complex techniques and technologies, tends to complicate solutions unnecessarily and can significantly hinder progress and delivery capabilities. In my self-reflection, I've identified that instead of adopting a myriad of new technologies, we should focus on the simplest possible solution to address the problem at hand. This approach not only reduces risk but also enhances productivity and delivery efficiency. Opting for simplicity does not equate to a lack of innovation or effectiveness. On the contrary, simplicity requires a deep understanding of the problem and the ability to select the most appropriate tools. By doing so, we save time and effort, ensuring that the developed software is easier to maintain and expand in the future. Our ultimate goal is to deliver high-quality products that meet user needs in the most efficient way possible. The adoption of new technologies should be a means to an end, not the end itself. By focusing on simple solutions, we can significantly improve our productivity and delivery capabilities. In essence, embracing simplicity over complexity in software development can lead to more effective and sustainable results. It is a reminder that the best solutions are often the simplest ones. #engineering #problemsolving #efficiency #innovation #OverEngineering

A great reference to look up on this is Google's research on high performance teams. You cannot have an adequate developer experience without * Psychological safety: Which translates to the freedom to improve our Way of Working through deliberate practice and continuous improvement. * Dependability: Delivering high-quality work on time. * Structure & clarity: Clarity of goals, roles, and execution plans. Where onboarding, and collaboration are integral to the teams routine. * Meaning of work: Taking the time to share the motivation behind what is being built. * Impact of work: And sharing WHY it is being built, even if the reason is simply to enter a new market, or reduce operational costs, just sharing those simple statements helps us keep track of where our work is fitting within the rest of the companies needs https://lnkd.in/eckkJ67G

There is one surefire way to drive a software engineer to exasperation. Just ask, "Are you a 10x engineer"? I cringe every time I hear the toxic term. Instead, I want the industry to start talking about effective engineering teams. Having built and managed highly effective teams of software engineers, I have a few theories. Notice that I used the word effective and not efficient. Let us define these terms. I am deriving this definition from a definition of effectiveness and efficiency by Peter Drucker. 🎯 Effective software engineering teams build the right software.  🎯 Efficient software engineering teams build software the right way. A software engineering team can be both effective and efficient. But as a leader, your job is prioritizing and fostering effectiveness over efficiency. An efficient software team might dogmatically follow all the best practices offered by frameworks such as Rails, Prisma or Apollo GraphQL without considering the larger context of the distributed system. A client insisted on using ActiveResource (Rails best practice). Instead, I convinced them to use a read-only user from the source database and accessed it from another service, saving 6 dev months of effort, translating to $100k. If you mess up critical aspects of distributed systems, like the data model or interfaces between sub-systems, the cost of fixing it after the software is deployed in production is prohibitive and can potentially kill your business. An effective software team will consider these aspects and make the right choices. Prioritizing efficiency over effectiveness might lead to over-engineering. When onboarding the first enterprise client, an efficient software team might make a framework for data import, ensure test coverage, and care for NFRs. Conversely, an effective software team might treat it as a one-off job and automate it with a shell script that runs off their laptop. So, how does one build a team of such effective engineers? The answer is very simple. You let other effective software engineers do the hiring. So, how do you get your first effective engineer? Here in lies the rub. You need to seed your organization or your division with one effective engineer with an infectious attitude. If you are having trouble finding one, I can help set up your hiring process. Effectiveness is a mindset rather than a skill. It needs to be adopted across the organization. This entails adopting a growth mindset, setting up a trusted and blame-free environment, developing a bias towards action, embracing craftsmanship and learning, and obsessive focus on outcomes. I have helped numerous organizations adopt this mindset by removing barriers to communication, fostering an environment of trust, setting up structures for learning, and bringing transparency and visibility to the metrics that matter. Remember! If you do not measure what matters, you will end up measuring what you can. #effectiveteams #softwareengineering #leadership

Software Engineering vs. Software Development: Choosing the right approach In tech, "software engineering" and "software development" often seem interchangeable, but each has distinct roles. Understanding the differences can guide teams in selecting the right methodology to meet project goals. Software engineering takes a structured, comprehensive approach to developing complex systems, focusing on planning, analysis, design, implementation, and deployment. Engineers often use methodologies like Waterfall, V-Model, or Spiral for large-scale projects, emphasizing documentation and long-term reliability. Software development, however, focuses on coding and continuous updates, delivering functional products through iterative processes. Agile is the primary methodology here, known for its flexibility and responsiveness to user feedback. Key Differences: 1. Scope: Engineering targets scalable, maintainable systems; development aims for quick delivery. 2. Flexibility: Engineering assumes stable requirements, while development embraces change. 3. Planning: Engineering emphasizes detailed planning; development prefers iterative work. For projects requiring structure and reliability, engineering methodologies excel. Development methodologies are ideal for fast delivery and adaptability. #SoftwareEngineering #Agile #TechInnovation #SoftwareDevelopment #Methodology #ITLuxembourg