Software Engineering for Data Scientists

Chapter 14. Working in Software

Up to this point, I’ve focused more on the code you’re writing than the environment you’re working in. Before I finish this book, I want to give you an introduction to some of the things you’ll see if you’re working at a software company, or if your company is becoming more technology driven. There are some standard ways of working that can be useful to know when you’re starting your first job in the software industry or if you’re moving into tech from a different field.

In this chapter, I’ll give you an overview of some standard practices in the software industry, as well as a look at some common job functions carried out by people you may meet and work with. I’ll also give you an introduction to the wider software community, including how to start contributing to open source software and how to start speaking at events.

Development Principles and Practices

In this section, I want to give you an overview of some common ways of working in the software industry. Every company will do things slightly differently, but you’ll likely hear developers talking about these. In some companies, you may be expected to follow these practices, so it’s useful to have some background knowledge of them.

The Software Development Lifecycle

Many software companies follow a somewhat standardized set of steps in developing their product, known as the software development lifecycle (SDLC). You may find that the company you’re working at carries out a variation of these ...