Empathy is a key skill for software developer

User Story

As a <software developer>

I want to <understand the various stakeholders and my interactions> with them.

So that I can <empathise with them and improve their experience>.

Empathy plays a very important role in product development. As a product manager, it is paramount that you speak to your customer, understand their pain points and build solution that addresses their problem.

As a software developer you might dismiss empathy as not being an important skill by thinking - I don’t have to interact with the customer. For me, developer, my responsibility is to write good code. I don’t need to build the skill for empathy.

Think again. Should your responsibility be limited to writing code with good test coverage? Does you responsibility end once the code is merged into the source control?

• Would the tester benefit if they knew what problem you are solving, what challenges you faced, choices you have made?
• How would release management improve if they knew the benefits of the changes you have made or the impact if these changes are not deployed soon?
• Think again even about writing code. When writing code think about readability and maintainability. Your code will always make sense to you, no matter how badly it is written. Empathise with the person who will be reading your code and will it make sense to them.

Dig deeper and think about all your interactions with the product owner, testers, release management, other teams, your team mates, your boss. Wouldn’t it be helpful if you can empathise with all these people who interact with you.

Empathy is an important skill for every software developer. As like a muscle, it is a skill that grows with more you use it and declines with the neglect.

Originally published on LinkedIn.