Written by: Tugce Ozdeger, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Software is a piece of program consisting of instructions that tell the computer how to work in a certain situation, and that situation is defined as the domain of the software built for.
The question is, why we need software in our computers, phones, or tablets?
The general purpose of using software is to automate our routines to utilize the time efficiently.
For instance, we are all familiar with using washing machines in our daily lives, right? There is a program running on a washing machine, and the way the washing machine operates depends on what we need and what to automate to get our things washed.
In other words, the software we are using in our daily lives makes our life easier by performing the daily tasks much quicker than we are supposed to do manually otherwise. The purpose of technology is to help us to save time and also to eliminate human errors.
To build such robust software that would meet today’s needs and the future needs takes a lot of courage, and that’s what software development is all about.
If we need to take a closer look into software development, in a nutshell, we can easily see how the software development lifecycle works as follows:
1. Understanding the user needs: This is where we really dive deep into the challenges our users face daily. Understanding the user needs will actually define the lifetime of the system we are going to build. Software will stay alive as long as someone needs to use it.
2. Interpret their needs into the tech world and architect the best tech-solution that addresses those needs: This is where we create the value by providing them the best solution that meets their needs.
3. Building the software with a short feedback loop with users: Leave always room for change. A short feedback loop with users while building the system will always help us build the right system.
4. Give support to the users and maintain the software by always aiming to give users a value in mind: Even after the delivery, we always continue to give our users value by maintaining the software, e.g., fixing the faults, improving the performance. The feedback we get from the users will also shape the future development of the software.
5. Further develop the software and go back to 1 and see what else users need: Software development is a journey. As long as we all humans continue to exist on this planet, we always have needs. Quality systems will definitely help us go through our challenging tasks easily and effortlessly. Technology is evolving, and we noticed day by day how we are all engaged with the different kinds of systems in our daily lives in different platforms such as personal computers, mobile phones, house appliances, etc. Obviously, the more we are conscious about how and what software we are building, the easier and more efficient lives we will have with the help of what technology brings to us.
Tugce Ozdeger, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Tugce Ozdeger, is a Senior Software Engineer and a Career Acceleration Mentor for Women in Tech. After a long corporate career, Tugce created strategies to level up her tech career
on her own terms. She has since dedicated her life to helping women to unleash their full potential by defining a lucrative career that allows them to experience the life of their dreams in tech. She is the founder of Heart-Centric Tech Mentoring, an online tech career mentoring academy with students from many different countries. Tugce was featured on various digital publications and podcasts. She was a speaker at SweTugg which is one of the prestigious tech conferences in Stockholm. Tugce was also the project leader for one of the most appreciated IT-Conferences for Women in Tech in Sweden which was arranged completely digital. Her mission: More women in tech.
