9/16 Post
Response to prompt 1: When Ko states "even in software organizations, the point of the company is rarely to make software; it's to provide value", she is emphasizing that software isn't valuable by itself. The code and design patterns/technical features only matter to the extent of what they allow the users to accomplish. For example, Microsoft Word isn't valuable just because of the complexity of its codebase but because it enables users to write documents, edit text, collaborate, and share info efficiently. The user never interacts with the code directly, so what they see, and judge is the outcome. This distinction is important because it shifts the focus of software engineering away from being entirely technically based. In the case of Microsoft Word, its value could be measured by the number of active users, or customer satisfaction surveys. These provide insight into whether or not the software is providing users value effectively and whether people find it w...