For those of you who are not software engineers, nor from a software engineering background, your knowledge and/or interest in how software is developed may be extremely minimal. Why, I hear you ask, do I need to know how a developer does their job? Surely, developers know this stuff better than I do? I doubt I even understand 10 percent of it anyway!
To some extent, this is very true; developers do (and should) know their stuff, and having you stick your nose in might not be welcome. However, it does help if you at least have an understanding or appreciation of how software is created, as it can help to identify where potential issues could reside.
Let's put it another way: I have an understanding and appreciation of how an internal combustion engine is put together and how it works, but I am no mechanic—far from it, in fact. However, I...