I have experience as a developer, and mainly work as an analyst right now. Most of the products we use come from external vendors, where we have little control over things.

I do know that my experience has led to teamwork that ended up identifying and fixing bugs much faster, since I understand how programs function, and can frequently point them in the right direction much faster.

As others have said in this thread, seeing the other side is a great idea. It must come with the right attitude though, and I don't see a lot of people who are willing to keep a positive attitude, for a variety of reasons.