Do Software Managers Need to Be Good at Coding

Which side of the argument are you on?

There are a lot of discussions these days about whether software managers need to be good at coding.

Some people say that it’s essential. Others say it’s not necessary.

I believe if you are a technical manager directly managing developers, you need to be good at coding.

I have seen many software managers who are clueless about their codebase. As a result, they make decisions that are not in line with the technical needs of the application. They also don’t know which developer is truly contributing and who is faking it.

This usually causes frustration on both sides and ultimately leads to the team’s poor performance.

Let’s look into seven reasons why software managers with good programming knowledge have definite advantages over their peers.

Applications need long-term technical vision to remain valid for an extended period. They need to evolve and stay relevant to their customers’ needs.

Often, companies build incredible products that fail to keep pace with market demand. They start great. But due to poor management with no technical vision, these applications become legacy before realizing their full potential.

A technically savvy manager with excellent development experience understands how to shape the future of the application.

They know constant technological improvements are equally necessary as continuously delivering business features. Their vision helps the teams produce quality products that meet functional and technical needs.

This also helps the company prevent stagnation by ensuring the team is constantly learning and investigating new technologies. All this together keeps the team’s motivation level high and the customer happy.

Having faced the challenges of a programmer in their career, technical managers can relate to them better. They can understand what motivates the developers. This…

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