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3 Embarrassing Software Engineering Fails No One Shares
The biggest mistakes I made in my career — and what I learned
We like reading success stories. New achievements, innovations, big sales, outstanding performance — all of this inspires us. Success stories demonstrate that nothing is impossible. If we look around, we will see that many things are the result of someone's victory. What is missing though is the way it was achieved.
Behind every result, there is a combination of different events: attempts, failures, rethinking. We don’t realize that. We don’t talk about failures; they can be uncomfortable and embarrassing. However, without the mistakes we made, we wouldn’t reach the goal. Failures are natural, and we need to accept that fact. They are the greatest teacher.
“Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.”
— Eleanor Roosevelt
Every software developer makes their own mistakes. Some of them could be avoided, and others have an impact on changes in their behavior. I would like to share three big failures I made in my career. I want them to be a lesson for other engineers. You will not repeat them if you recognize them earlier.
1. Be Able To Explain What You Did
Most software developers usually don’t talk much and prefer writing the code. They are introverts with curiosity to discover how systems work. They are smart, and they know how technologies work. But not everyone is able to explain that. Communication remains a big issue for them. For them, it is easier to describe the limitations of the framework to their peers. If they have to deliver that piece of information to non-technical teammates, the struggle gets real.
The problem can drive the curiosity deeper and deeper. Engineers might not see that they already spent the entire day figuring it out. This is a normal situation, especially when the crucial functionality of the application depends on it. In the end, there will be a solution. But what would you tell your manager about two full days for that issue that seems trivial?
