The Product-Minded Software Engineer(一)
Product-minded engineers don’t settle for getting a specification and jumping to implement it. They think about other ideas and approach the product manager with these. They often challenge existing specifications, suggesting alternative product approaches, that might work better.
积极主动地对待产品理念或观点
具有产品思维的工程师不会满足于拿到设计说明后就匆匆忙忙地立即执行。他们会思考其他的创意，并找产品经理提出这些想法。他们经常挑战现有的设计规范，建议可能更优的替代性方法。
知识讲解
proactive
我们先来看这段话的标题中的一个词 proactive，它的意思是“积极、主动的”，它的反义词是 reactive，“消极、被动的”。我们先来看一个例句，通过这个例句我们来学习这两个词的含义。
例句：The difference between proactive people and reactive people is that proactive people take initiative, and they come up with ideas to get things done despite the conditions they are in. Reactive people, on the other hand, usually are the ones to react to a situation rather than take initiative to create a situation.
翻译：积极主动的人和消极被动的人之间的区别在于，积极主动的人会采取主动，无论他们所处的环境如何，都会想出办法来完成任务；而消极被动型的人通常只会对形势做出被动的反应，而不会主动采取行动去创造形势。
Pro- 和 Re- 这一对反义前缀，能够帮助我们更好地理解和记忆其他单词。例如 progress（前进、进化）和 regress（后退、退化）。它们的英语解释如下：Progress is to move, go, or proceed forward; to advance.Regress is to move backwards to an earlier stage; to devolve.
settle for / settle
接下来，我们看 settle for 这个短语，以及 settle 的意思。我们先看一下它的英文解释。settle for (something):
to accept something less ideal or worse than what one really wanted;
to agree to accept something (even though something else would be better);
accept or be satisfied with as a compromise.
简单来说，settle for 就是“勉强同意接受，将就或者凑合”的意思。我们来看几个例句，感受一下它的使用场景。
例句：He demanded a bigger raise but decided to settle for what they offered.
翻译：他原本要求更高的涨薪，但最后决定人家给多少拿多少，凑合一下算了。
例句：I could never settle for such a quiet life; I want excitement.
翻译：我不能将就如此单调的生活。我需要刺激。同样，settle 这个动词有“停留、安顿”的含义，也可以衍生出“将就、凑合、妥协”的意思。苹果公司创始人乔布斯在他著名的斯坦福大学毕业典礼演讲中就有这么一段，你可以感受一下：
And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.
在这段话里，乔帮主两次提到“Don’t settle”，就是让我们跟随自己的内心，去寻找我们倾心的工作或爱情，找到了，你的心会告诉你，往后的日子历久弥新会越来越好；还没找到的话，千万不要放弃，不要妥协，不可以将就和凑合。
specification
specification 这个词比较长，有时候我们在口语中直接说 spec 就可达意。如下文的英文解释，在工程中，指的是“设计说明书、设计规范”的意思：a detailed description of the design and materials used to make something
jump to
jump to (something) 这个短语，顾名思义是“匆匆忙忙、很快，甚至有些草率”的意思。意思很简单，我们重点来看它的三种用法及对应的例句。
第一种用法：jump to conclusions: to guess the facts about a situation without having enough information.
例句：Don’t jump to conclusions! Perhaps it was his daughter he was dancing with.
翻译：别匆忙下结论，和他跳舞的没准是他女儿呢。
第二种用法：jump to it (informal): used to tell someone to do something quickly.例句：I told you to tidy this room - now jump to it!
翻译：（俚语）早就让你打扫房间，怎么还这样乱！快去！
第三种用法：jump to sb’s defence: to quickly defend someone.
例句：Whenever anyone criticizes her husband, she immediately jumps to his defence.
翻译：每当有人批评她的丈夫时，她会立即为他辩护。
approach
这一段出现了两次 approach，分别有不同的意思。第一处是动词，意思是“找（某人）谈话、与（某人）打交道”，第二处是名词，意思是“（处理）方法”。这些都是最早从 to go or come near in place or in time 或者 come near in quality or character, resemble, become similar 等含义中衍生出来的意思。
下面我们通过几个例句感受一下 approach 的使用场景。
例句：The workers approached the manager with a request for shorter working hours.
翻译：工人们找经理要求减少工作时间。
例句：Those officials were approached with bribes.
翻译：这些官员是被贿赂买通的。在特定语境中，approach a government officer 本身就有企图贿赂政府官员的意思。
例句：His sober approach to the crisis averted a catastrophe.
翻译：他对危机的冷静处理避免了一场大灾难。