Apps without Developers

Mike White

Nov 1, 2024 — 1 min read

Imagine an app that launches perfectly on day one, but over time, small cracks begin to show: customer complaints increase, compliance issues arise, and security concerns escalate. Could this all have been avoided?

With all these innovations around AI and coding, there are more conversations in non-tech companies about how we can finally get rid of software developers who always seem to make simple things complicated while asking for more resources.

Software development is much more than just coding, so before we go cutting out software roles, here are a few reasons why we need software developers in the mix:

Security and Compliance: It’s easy for people outside the tech world to underestimate the risks here. When security and compliance are afterthoughts, apps become easy targets for attackers and could lead to legal trouble—problems that only get more costly down the line.
Scalability and Maintenance: Building an app that works well on day one is one thing; making sure it can handle growth and stay functional long-term is another. This kind of forward-looking planning and problem-solving isn’t always straightforward, and it’s why experienced developers are key.
Quality Assurance and Testing: App reliability can be surprisingly tricky, especially in a world where tech evolves so fast. Developers bring essential testing strategies—both automated and hands-on—that keep software functioning smoothly and minimize disruptions.
User Experience and Interface Design: Just generating code isn’t enough to make software easy to use. Understanding how people interact with technology and what makes for an intuitive, enjoyable interface requires skill in user-centered design.
Integration and Ecosystem Alignment: Apps rarely exist in isolation. They need to connect with other systems and work smoothly within an entire ecosystem. This requires a big-picture view of both the technology landscape and the business environment.

It’s not lost on me that people are working hard to eliminate these issues, but before your organization decides it doesn’t need developers anymore and can just do with tech-savvy domain experts, keep in mind that it’s incredibly easy to make bad software, and it’s only getting easier.

The Three Problems Training can Actually Help Solve.

Training is one tool that organizations immediately reach for whenever they have a problem with their people. But unfortunately, this training can solve everything approach makes several assumptions about the real problem. * Is customer service getting too many complaints? Please send them to customer service training. * Are sales folks not

Getting Mentally Prepared for Learning

The learning process and the pursuit of mastery aren’t linear. It can go sideways, up, down, and all over. The downs tend to feel way down, especially early on. In this “valley of despair,” as it’s sometimes called, many of us quit. We stop for all sorts of

How to Read Code

Some advice floating around the internet says learning to read code is one of the best things you can do to improve your code. So I took some time to explore the subject to get a feel for approaching code that I didn't write. When I first started

Writing Simple Programs

One of the best approaches I've found while learning is to write simple programs. I'm using the word simple, in this case, to mean the programming problems will have a minimal number of inputs, a linear process, and a limited number of outputs. Starting with simple

Read more

The Three Problems Training can Actually Help Solve.

Getting Mentally Prepared for Learning

How to Read Code

Writing Simple Programs