5 Reasons Developers Must Understand the Why of Their Code

A developer not knowing the?why?of their code is a code monkey.

In case you don’t know the term, a code monkey is an?expendable?and?easily replaceable?programmer. There are millions of such programmers already out there. More are getting added to the workforce every single year.

You can’t afford to be a code monkey.

It might have worked a few years ago when it was hard to find developers and headcount mattered. People who simply knew how to code were considered special.

However, this advantage is eroding fast with the rise of LLMs and Chatbots. To keep yourself relevant, you must strive to?increase your value as a developer.

And one of the best ways to do so is to?understand the why of your code.

In this post, I explain?why?it is important to understand the?why?of your code.

Here are the 5 main reasons:

Context

Building a large software system is like solving a puzzle.

Each piece in your favorite puzzle has a specific place where it fits seamlessly. It becomes far easier to join the pieces if you understand the big picture.

The same goes for software development where each functionality is a piece that contributes to the real business goal.

Developers who understand the business goal add more value toward achieving that goal.

When building a team, I’d rather take developers who make an effort to find out how their piece of code impacts the business. Such developers are bound to make better decisions about how they write & test their code.

On the other side of the spectrum are?code monkeys?who are simply?glorified translators. They do what they are told. Not so different from what tools like ChatGPT have started doing.

To increase your value as a developer, stop being a translator. Use your brains and strive to first understand the business reason behind the code.

User Needs

If I got a dollar for every time I challenged the user about their requirements, I would be a millionaire by now.

Sadly, most developers are afraid of challenging the user’s requirements. They are bound by the dutiful oath of?the customer being always right.

I’m not saying that users are dumb.

But users also?don’t?know everything they want until you show it to them.

In fact, developers who?understand the why of their system?have a lot of insights about how the user experience can be improved.

It’s because they understand the capabilities and limitations of the system like the back of their hand.

Such developers are priceless.

Not only do they delight the end user, but they also end up generating more revenue in the long run. After all, only a happy user will give you more work.

Prioritization

Knowledge of why makes you a partner rather than a robot meant to follow orders.

As a partner, you aren’t going to wait for orders. You are going to move ahead with the intention of benefiting the business.

Why not do something now that can help save costs later on? Example could be building long-term APIs that can be utilized for multiple projects down the line.

If you can act in a way that provides an advantage to the business, you'll get benefited in the long run.

Collaboration

As a developer, when you focus on just the?what?and?how?you are simply an executioner.

But code is not written for the sake of it. It is written to solve a particular problem and achieve certain business outcomes.

To increase your value as a developer, you must go the extra mile to understand the business outcome of a particular requirement. This requires you to collaborate with stakeholders such as business analysts, product managers, and end users.

When you get any new requirements, take your fingers away from the keyboard and start using your brain. Build your own hypothesis, but don’t stop there. Talk to other people who know about the business and approach the requirement from different points of view.

Only after you’ve gathered enough information, then and only then?think?of the actual change that needs to be done. Once you’ve thought through the change, do it.

One of my managers used to say, “Be wide in discussion. But be precise while taking action.”

“Success in any endeavor is 90% preparation and 10% execution. The more prepared you are, the more successful your execution will be.”?— Mark Cuban

Career Growth

Whenever someone starts to give me steps to do something, I ask them to stop right there.

“Don’t tell me what to do. Tell me the reason for your need and I’ll figure out what to do and how to do it.”

It might sound snobbish. But in reality, it is liberating.

Knowledge of the why makes you a leader and inspires you to do more. It also boosts your productivity and forces you to go beyond your normal call of duty.

Ultimately,?doing more than what’s expected of you?is the secret sauce to career growth.

Once you start operating at this level, you are no longer a commodity that can be easily replaced.

What’s not replaceable is special and you are inclined to attach more worth to it at any given point in time.

Why, What & How?are the foundational questions to build our understanding of something, whether is it a software program or a decision to buy something.

Ordinary people pay more attention to?what?and?how. These are the busy workers who do what they are told. For them, success is tied to the amount of work done or the number of hours worked on a given task.

But the extraordinary ones start with why. Most of their time is spent pondering about reasons and outcomes.

Understanding the why of something ensures that you’d do the right thing at the right time. This way you are setting yourself up for success.

“Plan your execution. Execute your plan.” — Anonymous