It's not a taking anything away from us, to say we're not engineers.
It would be helpful if engineering had a widely accepted succinct definition like the scientific method, but it doesn't.
Building software is its own thing. It requires some engineering discipline. It requires some scientific method. It requires some artistic creativity. It requires operating efficiently within some community.
It also (usually) does not require the rigor of engineering because it's ephemeral, and it doesn't require the proof of science because it's every changing, there is no truth.
It's software, and that's not better or worse than engineering it's just different.
It would be helpful if engineering had a widely accepted succinct definition like the scientific method, but it doesn't.
Building software is its own thing. It requires some engineering discipline. It requires some scientific method. It requires some artistic creativity. It requires operating efficiently within some community.
It also (usually) does not require the rigor of engineering because it's ephemeral, and it doesn't require the proof of science because it's every changing, there is no truth.
It's software, and that's not better or worse than engineering it's just different.