Beyond the Code: How Engineers Can Drive Product and Business Impact
“I write code, not business plans.”
I used to think that too.
Until I realized that every engineering decision I made—what to build, what to refactor, even how I named a variable—was quietly shaping the product, the user experience, and ultimately, the business itself.
👩💻 From Developer to Builder
Let me start with a question:
What’s the difference between a developer and an engineer?
A developer solves problems through code.
But a product-minded engineer digs deeper. They ask:
- Why does this problem exist?
- Who does it affect?
- Are we solving the right problem?
This mindset shift—thinking beyond the code—has been the most transformative part of my journey.
I started in a service-based company where I wrote code, solved tickets, and met deadlines. Later, I joined a product company and expected more context—and while I got it, my mindset hadn’t changed yet.
“Give me the ticket. I’ll build it.”
It wasn’t until I started asking why that I realized engineering could shape more than systems. It could shape business outcomes.
🧠 How Engineering Shapes Product & Business Outcomes
We often assume success comes from roadmaps or leadership strategy. But engineering decisions—performance, refactors, infrastructure—make or break product growth.
⚡ 1. Performance Optimizations = Real Business Value
When Bret Taylor added AJAX to improve Google Maps UX, he didn’t just solve a loading issue—he helped invent the modern web.
At current product company, I optimized a kanban workflow from 3s load time to under 800ms using lazy loading and render refactors.
Result:
- Faster team workflows
- Better UX
- Tangible operational impact
Great UX = higher conversions = business growth.
🧱 2. Tech Debt: When to Refactor
Tech debt isn't always bad—it’s about trade-offs.
We migrated from a monolithic frontend to microfrontends because:
- Builds took 20+ minutes
- Bugs were hard to isolate
- Teams couldn't ship in parallel
Post migration:
- Teams shipped independently
- Faster CI/CD
- Faster go-to-market
Tech decision → agility → better customer experience
🛠️ 3. Infrastructure Choices Drive Scale
While building a real-time collaboration platform, we chose:
- WebSockets
- Scoped multi-party messaging
- Contextual permissions
More effort, but the payoff:
- Fewer delays
- Premium UX
- Increased retention
🧭 The Product Mindset for Engineers
Let’s shift gears.
You don’t need to be a PM to think like one.
You just need to care what happens after your code ships.
📌 From Feature-Focused to Problem-Solving
Example:
Ticket: “Add email field to onboarding.”
With a feature mindset:
Build it. Validate. Deploy. ✅
With a product mindset:
Why now? Could it hurt onboarding? Is there an autofill option?
Asking these questions leads to better design, UX, and product outcomes.
👀 Watch Real User Behavior
We once noticed users clicking a disabled button. It wasn’t built yet—but it showed demand.
We prioritized it, and usage spiked.
Tickets won’t show you this. But a curious engineer will.
🛠️ Practical Strategies to Engineer for Business Impact
1. Communicate Tech in Business Terms
Tech speak gets lost in translation. Try reframing:
- ❌ “We have an N+1 issue.”
- ✅ “Every page takes 2s longer to load—hurts conversion.”
Use tools like ChatGPT to translate your PRs into business insights.
2. Prioritize with Impact in Mind
Ask: Does this contribute to revenue, retention, or reliability?
If not, it’s a v2 problem, not v1.
Example: We delayed a refactor to build a self-serve dashboard → it boosted retention → later we refactored without pressure.
3. Own the Outcome, Not Just the Code
We launched an inquiry flow that nobody used.
Post-launch:
- We added onboarding tips and tooltips
- Usage improved dramatically
Lesson: Adoption = part of your job.
Use Mixpanel + OpenAI to track usage patterns and surface insights.
🚀 TL;DR Takeaways
- Engineers who think beyond code build better products.
- Small mindset shifts = big results.
- Tech decisions are business decisions.
You don’t need permission to think this way.
You just need curiosity.
💬 Let’s Talk
Ever built something that nobody used? Or challenged a ticket that turned out better for it?
I’d love to hear your story.
Let’s connect and build smarter, together.
👋 Curious how this talk came to life?
Read my earlier blog on giving this talk at Google Developer Group:
👉 Behind the Mic: My First GDG Talk Experience
Xx,
Kiara