The Product-Minded Engineer: The importance of good errors and warnings
Product engineers are more in demand than ever, but how do you become one? New book, “The Product-Minded Engineer”, offers a guide. An interview with its author and an exclusive excerpt
TL;DR
- Startups are increasingly hiring "product engineers" who can ideate and build products, a trend expected to grow with AI code generation.
- Drew Hoskins' book, "The Product-Minded Engineer," aims to help software engineers develop product-thinking skills.
- The book emphasizes the high leverage of well-designed error and warning messages as a key product interface.
- Strategies for engineers include asking 'why' frequently, switching viewpoints, using scenarios, and engaging with customer support.
- AI tools can assist in gathering user signals by analyzing various communication channels.
- Effective error messages should provide context, use the product's ontology, suggest actionable steps, and be raised at the interface layer.
- "Shifting left" involves diagnosing issues as early as possible through techniques like static validations, upfront testing, fakes, and user confirmations.