Build IT Better S01E27- Dev vs. User: Who Really Calls the Shots?

Hosts Adam L Barrett and Jesse Tomchak sit down with Amelia Graycen from OrthoFi to discuss her role as an architect and her diverse background in front-end development and other technical areas. She highlights the challenges of being an architectural "mercenary," someone who navigates various aspects of software development, from business requirements to technical implementations. The trio talk about the tendencies of tech professionals to focus on technology intricacies at the expense of the overall business goals. They emphasize the importance of aligning technical decisions with user needs and business objectives, citing examples like touchscreens in cars and over-engineering front-end systems.

Amelia points out that tech professionals can get caught up in their own preferences and technical solutions, losing sight of the bigger picture. She stresses the significance of understanding the problems being solved and collaborating effectively with cross-functional teams, including marketing, product, and business departments. The interview dives into the complexities of communication and trust within development teams and across departments. They explore how to strike a balance between allowing developers to explore technical solutions while ensuring those solutions align with user needs and business priorities.

The discussion also touches on the value of tools like Nx's generators in improving developer experience, as well as the benefits and challenges of adopting a mono repo architecture. The interview concludes with a reflection on the necessity of addressing human factors when making technical decisions, recognizing that both developers and end-users are human, and effective communication is key to avoiding silos and misunderstandings.

Host Adam L Barrett- Software Engineer at This Dot Labs Jesse Tomchak- Software Engineer at Mammoth

Guest Amelia Graycen- Software Architect at OrthoFi

This episode is sponsored by This Dot Labs