Perfect Code, Limited Business Impact

Welcome to Issue #009 of the /dev/stdout newsletter. Why code quality ≠ business value?

I'm sure many of us working in tech have heard and read about how low-quality code can lead a business to a dead end. Poorly organized, inflexible code that lacks proper abstractions and structures to support business logic can slow down operations and limit growth.

The story of a badly written code has been told many times, and rightly so! Good architecture and design decisions greatly improve the maintainability and extendability of code, ensuring its future usability. Yet, it’s not rare to encounter applications that fall into this category, but that’s another story. In this issue, I'm focusing on great code that only offers limited business value—a topic I have heard discussed far less often.

Software engineering costs are high because it’s labor-intensive, specialized work that requires extensive learning and motivation to succeed. One might say that AI makes it more of a commodity skill, but in my view, it just makes the coding part easier with added help in the architecture design process. Software engineering skills are still required, and that’s the hard part anyway. Don't get me wrong, using AI correctly can really speed up the process.

Since software engineering is costly, companies must carefully plan what to develop and accurately calculate its ROI¹ . For startups, every action is inherently risky, and the greatest risk is doing nothing. For more established companies with numerous projects, comparing different initiatives becomes crucial. In both cases, calculating ROI and assessing future potential are crucial—failure to do so results in missed opportunities and development costs with no returns.

The worst possible outcome for a company is well-written software that offers little or no business value. The worst part is that the team invested extra time in focusing on code quality, only to find that there isn't enough demand for the software. —> Bad ROI —> Perfect Code, Limited Business Impact.

That’s why experience in building tech products and leading tech teams is crucial to have within the company. Companies need someone who can help stakeholders understand where custom software development truly adds value, when ready-made software solutions might work, or even when no new software is needed.

It's important to know when the team should, for example:

• Write a throwaway prototype,

• Focus on improving existing features instead of creating new ones,

• Develop a production-grade new feature.

Throughout my career as a software consultant, I've written my fair share of code in many, also international, companies. During the years I've learned a lot about the added value of software, but I also soberly recognize that code is always a liability too.

Would you like to hear more about how I could help you finding the sustainable way to grow your software product?

Thanks for reading and have a great week ahead!

Best,
Pyry

P.S. I got my writing groove on by listening to the True Sounds of Liberty!

1  Return of Investment