One of the most commonly asked questions in the IT industry is — What makes a software development team effective?
But as you may have guessed, there isn't a simple answer to that.
There are several factors influencing software development. The size, complexity, design, compatibility, integration, migration, scope, and budget are among the most important.
But even with these wide ranges of constraints, there are a few practices a software development company can implement to improve software development team productivity. This is so you a business can enhance the functionality and sustainability of their software application.
To that effect, in this article, we will look at the top tips that improve the effectiveness of software development teams so a business can better benefit from their solutions.
Adopt a step-by-step approach
Software development evolves gradually, one step at a time. Being overly optimistic about moving ahead with one of the big names in the industry might land you in unprecedented troubles.
Regardless of the size of your project, break down every deliverable and set milestones for each to better track the progress. From product ideation, programming, testing, to user documentation and eventual release, tasks should be approached singularly.
This helps in defining the roles and responsibilities of a software development team clearly. It also contributes to productive cross-team collaborations.
1. Document clear goals
Set clear goals for the software development project even if it is just about developing a small mobile app. Decide what its requirements are, the features you will implement, what needs are to be met, and the level of priority that will be given to each task.
Most projects, including mobile app development, website development, or chatbot development are planned to keep the present requirements in mind. Not much consideration is given to the future of the software application. However, it is something you can not afford to ignore. Especially in this fast-changing technological atmosphere where product dynamics have to be updated with the evolving needs of users, it is important that system design and architecture be given due importance.
As foundational elements of software development, they define how scalable, cost-efficient and usable an application will be.
Documenting clear goals for the projects and their requirements will ensure that everyone is on the same page and can work together effectively towards common objectives.
Doing this will not just warrant timely delivery but will also help cut down costs since any miscommunication or inconsistency will be avoided, hence, enhancing the problem-solving capabilities of an organization.
2. Employ talented and experienced individuals
Whether a mobile application is developed in-house or outsourced to a third-party mobile app development company, the effectiveness of the hired team depends on the process of mobile app development that they follow.
Map the requirements of your project well in advance to determine the size of your team, from project managers to software developers. If your team is understaffed, it might result in unnecessary delays in delivery and increased conflicts due to the overloading of responsibilities on the existing team.
As a general rule of thumb, have one project manager for every 5 developers. Every software developer must possess relevant technical competency and experience. A technical project manager, on the other hand, must have strong management and interpersonal skills besides relevant technical acumen.
3. Track project requirements
As mentioned above, software development is a process that evolves smoothly in a step-by-step manner. Therefore, it is not possible to map its lifetime requirements in one go.
However, meticulous planning at each stage will lay the ground for including additional resources at further stages. It takes up to 8 months for a small or medium-sized company to define all its requirements. Work as per your budget to cater to future demands.
You can integrate a Change Control Process in your organization through which all requests to modify the predetermined standards of a project must pass through an evaluating authority to be rejected or approved. This helps keep track of schedules and costs better, as well as minimizes scope creep.
4. Choose the right technology stack
In this era of technological advancements, both big and small companies have understood the importance of custom software solutions and are investing in it heavily to expand and scale their products. But unless you have the right technology stack, there's little chance that your application will be successful.
There are a ton of technologies in the market to provide solutions for different kinds of problems. Whether it is AWS vs Azure or React vs Angular or Java vs Python, choose one that fulfills your project objectives best. Both backend and front end development will require such elaborations. And the right technology stack has a tremendous impact on your project.
Conduct in-depth research with your team’s members and clients to determine which technologies are best suited for their software application. It should maximize scalability, integration, migration and give your application the flexibility to update design and development dynamics with time.
To realize the full potential of the technologies you use, it is important that the developers you hire also have sufficient experience in using these technologies. For this reason, it is always recommended to hire a third-party software development company that has the relevant resources and expertise to handle such projects.
Final thoughts
An effective software development team forms the backbone of a successful software development project. Balance and growth are key factors to look out for when assembling a team.
A team where levels and individual roles are clearly defined improves the overall efficiency of an organization and adds to software development team productivity. Plus, it fosters an environment to learn and grow.