I believe we are partly to blame. As developers, we've spent a long time demanding "leave me alone, I just want to write code!" without taking the time to unde

I believe we are partly to blame. As developers, we've spent a long time demanding "leave me alone, I just want to write code!" without taking the time to understand the customers' problems, their constraints, or the business as a whole. We helped convince the project managers, etc that just sending us the requirements is sufficient. Now whether they email the docs to us in the next room or from the other side of the planet, what does it matter? To fix this, we need to accept that our job is to solve problems not just write code. We need to understand the customers, their constraints, and how our choices and work affect the business (or at least our product/team). Eventually, most people will realize that code is just one potential solution and sometimes other approaches - better docs, clearer UI, throwing people at a problem - can solve the problem too. We don't have to become experts in all areas, just realize how we and they fit together. TLDR: Yes, it's because managers believe developers are easily replaceable. Understand the customer, business, and/or industry and you won't be.