In the Software world, we often use the term “Developer” interchangeably with “Software Engineer”. This seems to be a mistake, as there are differences between the two, mostly in the approaches that the two types of people have. One is more ad-hoc, with mostly unpredictable results, while the other is more structured, with generally better results.

Our field is part of the engineering branch. Thus, we should be using engineering methods for building software. These methods will give us enough structure to be able to build software system with desired quality attributes, in budget and on time. While there are differences between software engineering and other engineering fields, the core ideas are the same.

This talk will try to address some of these differences, highlighting why it’s important to be an engineer rather than a mere developer. To properly back up the arguments, the talk will contain code snippets, architectural discussions and also discussions about engineering/development processes.

At the end of the talk, I hope that more people would aspire to become good engineers rather than mere developers. And, collectively, build better software; on time and on budget.