Throughout my career as a software development leader, I’ve developed a set of professional principles that guide every decision, interaction, and technical choice I make.

While I have comprehensive philosophies for software development, leadership, and personal principles, this article focuses specifically on the professional principles that guide my work as a software engineer and team leader.

Let me share the core professional principles that have shaped my professional journey and continue to drive my work today.

Work Backward Approach

I work backward from the problem, not forward from a solution. I save hours, improve outcomes, and prevent costly mistakes.

  • Start with stakeholder needs - External communications, definition of done, and using concept proofs to validate assumptions.
  • Understand the real problem - Ask “why” five times to find the root cause.
  • Validate assumptions early - Use tracer bullets to test theories.
  • Measure impact, not effort - Success depends on solving the right problem, not just building a solution.

Amazon has followed a flavor of their working backward principle since 2004.

Business-Technical Alignment

Every technical decision has a business impact. I act like a business owner while maintaining technical excellence.

  • ROI-focused development - I ask if features address significant user or business problems before building
  • Cost-conscious architecture - I design systems with operational costs in mind from day one
  • Business value measurement - I measure technical improvements with business metrics.

Team Enablement Through Systems

I build systems that make teams more effective, not just code that works. The best code is worthless if the team can’t maintain or extend it.

  • Documentation as code - I ensure that knowledge is captured and shared, not locked in meatspace.
  • Automation for consistency - I automate repetitive tasks to reduce human error and free up creative energy.
  • Standardized processes - I create reusable patterns that teams can apply consistently
  • Knowledge democratization - I build platforms that make information discoverable and accessible.

Pragmatic Perfectionism

Good enough is better than perfect, but quality is non-negotiable. I’ve learned that shipping working software quickly enables faster learning and improvement.

  • Ship to learn - I prioritize delivering working software over perfect architecture.
  • Quality gates, not quality walls - I focus on building quality early instead of testing at the end.
  • Fail fast, learn faster - I run experiments that validate assumptions quickly and cheaply.
  • Continuous improvement - I see every moment as a learning opportunity.

Stakeholder Communication Excellence

Technical excellence means nothing if stakeholders don’t understand the value. I’ve learned that clear communication is as essential as clean code.

  • Translate technical to business - I explain complex technical concepts in terms of business impact.
  • Expectation management - I set realistic timelines and communicate blockers, changes, and delays early and often.
  • Visual communication - I use data visualizations and prototypes to bridge technical and non-technical understanding.

Strategic Technical Debt Management

Technical debt is inevitable, but strategic technical debt is a choice. I’ve learned to distinguish between debt that enables progress and debt that cripples it.

  • Debt for speed - I accept technical debt to deliver critical business value faster.
  • Debt repayment plans - I incorporate technical debt reduction into regular development cycles.
  • Debt visibility - I make technical debt visible to stakeholders to help them understand trade-offs.
  • Debt prevention - I design systems to reduce technical debt buildup.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Software development is a team sport that extends beyond engineering. I’ve learned that the best solutions come from diverse perspectives.

  • Product partnership - Collaborate with product managers to understand user needs and business constraints.
  • Design collaboration - Involve designers early to ensure solutions support good user experiences.
  • DevOps Mindset - Design systems with operational requirements in mind.
  • Business stakeholder engagement - Seek input from stakeholders to align solutions with business goals.

Data-Driven Decision Making

I build systems that provide actionable insights, not just store information. I’ve learned that data quality and accessibility drive better business decisions.

  • ETL as a foundation - I design data pipelines that turn raw data into actionable insights.
  • Performance optimization - I optimize database queries and data processing for real-time insights.
  • Data validation and quality - I build systems ensuring data accuracy and consistency.
  • Scalable data architecture - I design data models that scale with business needs without performance loss.

The Evolution of Professional Principles

These professional principles have evolved through my career from successes, failures, and others’ wisdom. They represent the distillation of:

  • 25+ years of software development experience across multiple industries and company sizes
  • Multiple industry transformations from on-premise to cloud-native architectures and migrations from and to diverse technologies
  • Leadership roles in organizations ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies, from leading 13-person distributed teams to enterprise-wide initiatives
  • Continuous learning through certifications (FinOps Certified Practitioner, AWS certifications), conferences, and community involvement as an InnerSource Commons board member
  • Diverse technical environments from Windows Azure ecosystems to Linux/AWS/GCP cloud-native architectures

How These Principles Complement My Philosophies

While these professional principles guide my day job, they work in harmony with my broader software development philosophy and leadership philosophy. The philosophies provide the philosophical foundation, while these principles guide the practical application.

Applying These Principles

If you’re looking to develop your own professional principles, start by reflecting on:

  • What principles have helped you succeed in challenging technical situations?
  • How do you balance technical excellence with business needs?
  • What principles guide your interactions with stakeholders and team members?
  • How do you approach technical decisions that have business implications?

Your Professional Journey

Every software developer develops principles over time. It’s essential to identify them intentionally, live them consistently, and evolve as you grow.

My principles have helped me build teams, deliver complex projects, and adapt to technological changes.

What principles guide your software development? How do they influence your decisions and strategy? I’d love to hear about your experiences and how you’ve developed your principles.

References