Software dev has many aspects that have different analogies. The first is requirement gathering. This is essential to know what you are doing, be it from an i

Software dev has many aspects that have different analogies. The first is requirement gathering. This is essential to know what you are doing, be it from an internal customer or your boss. Best analogy I can think of is ask a 3 year old to describe in detail the house they live in. Enough that you can draw a picture of it and provide a fairly accurate floor plan. Floor plan good enough to use to order furniture against. Design and coding others have covered. Testing - ok inspect a car you want to buy ... in extreme detail. Write down the results. Documentation - write a diary, detailed that if someone who read it they could impersonate you.