Circuits and Software
When you think of electronics engineering and software engineering, they feel like different areas entirely, and it’s just the engineering that’s the only similarity. One deals in resistors, capacitors, and printed circuit boards (PCBs). The other is built on code, application programming interfaces (APIs), and servers.
But if you take a step back, both follow a very similar rhythm. The tools change, but the lifecycle, process, and way engineers think and work remain strikingly parallel.
Software Lifecycle
Circuit Lifecycle
1. Requirements
In electronics you ask questions like this; What should the circuit do? Should it amplify a signal, regulate voltage, or sense temperature?
For software, you ask, what should the app do? Should it manage tasks, process payments, or predict demand?
Everything starts with a clear goal. A requirement that is not clear leads to an unclear product regardless of the domain.
2. Design
In electronics design could be schematics, simulations, and component selection. The engineers consider current flow, tolerances, and layout.
Software design is usually architecture diagrams, database schemas, and API contracts. The engineer considers scalability, dependencies, and flow.
These two domains translate vague needs into concrete plans.
3. Implementation
Implementing in electronics is usually done with breadboarding for prototypes, then soldering and fabricating PCBs.
Software implementation is done by writing code, integrating libraries, and deploying builds.
This is where the ideas become real and capable of testing.
4. Testing
In electronics you measure the voltage, check signals with an oscilloscope, and look for noise or short circuits.
For software you perform unit tests, integration tests, logging, and debugging the runtime errors.
Testing uncovers real world conditions that always surprise you; this happens in both software and electronics.
5. Maintenance
In electronics maintenance is done when you replace failed capacitors, upgrade components, and retrofit designs.
In software maintenance is when you fix bugs, patch vulnerabilities, and roll out feature updates.
No system is ever complete. Every working product requires care, attention, and updates.
⚡ A Fun parallel is Capacitors in Electronics & Memory Leaks in Software
When you think about a capacitor in a power supply, which quietly degrades over time. At first, you barely notice maybe a little ripple, a little instability, but left unchecked, it eventually causes the entire system to fail.
A memory leak in software behaves the same way. Tiny inefficiencies accumulate, performance degrades, and eventually the system crashes.
Different mediums, but the same pattern.
Engineering is universal. Once you understand the mindset and break down requirements and design with constraints, implement carefully, test rigorously, and maintain continuously, it is possible to apply it across disciplines.
That’s why many engineers successfully cross from hardware to software (or vice versa). It’s not about learning a new toolset; it’s about carrying the same way of thinking into a new medium.
👉 What’s your favorite parallel between hardware and software?