By Arnab Dey
Today every business needs its own web application and creating one isn’t possible without a software development team.
Some product owners choose to outsource this process offshore, but having an in-house team has proven to be essential with a huge app with a complex design and big amount of features.
Here Are Seven Prime Steps To Build An Effective Software Development Team
Building a strong team isn’t an easy task and in this post, we will tell you about the main features you need to pay attention to while assembling IT professionals.
1. Set your goals
Even before you start searching for IT specialists, you and your business team need to have a long discussion of a future application’s features and design. Think about your budget and don’t be afraid to cut some things out if they are proven to be unessential at launch.
With a skillful tech team, you will be able to add those features later. Also, always analyze your rivals and their apps. This will help you to set your goals more clearly and the team structure will be based on this.
2. Team structure
In the very beginning, you will not only need to have a clear plan of a future app with a list of desired features and a worked-out budget but also a detailed structure of a future development team with defined roles.
Try to figure out the optimal team composition, which roles are essential, and which ones you can sacrifice for the sake of a budget. Creating a dynamic structure is very important too.
Scalability will allow you to have core team members at all stages of development and bring part-time or freelance specialists for different tasks, like quality assurance or software architecture, for example. Remember, that there is no established formula for the development team structure, so don’t be afraid to be flexible and creative with it.
3. Hiring Process
When you begin to hire, try to start with a senior developer or tech lead. This will allow you to bring some experience to the team in the early stages. The positive impact of having an experienced IT specialist on board from the start will pay off in the future, even if their wages can seem a little high at first sight.
Also, you can ask for the tech lead’s help in the interviewing process while confirming candidates’ hard skills. You and a project manager, if you already have one, can focus on paying attention to soft skills, which can sometimes be overlooked.
Don’t make that mistake, because team members with great communication skills and work ethic can really bring the whole team together.
4. Work environment
After you hired all team members considering their soft skills among other factors, your work as a team leader isn’t done. Throughout the whole development process, you will need to monitor your employees’ needs, provide them with all necessary resources, and sometimes moderate team communication.
With time the work environment will take care of itself with minimal input on your part. To keep your team energized we suggest having some minor rewards for meeting deadlines earlier than expected or other means of encouragement. Various bonding activities are recommended for bringing the team members together.
5. Team communication
You will need to assess all team members’ communication skills during the interviewing process to ensure a great work environment in the future. It is essential for your employees to not be afraid to clearly manifest their concerns, suggestions, and general thoughts on the project.
It is done more easily when you have a clear team structure and chain of command, so people know who to talk to about issues. This will benefit not only them but you too because having great communication with developers is key for successful results.
If you have a hybrid team structure with freelancers from abroad, think about a possible language barrier beforehand, and don’t be afraid to ask them to confirm their level of English knowledge.
6. Corporate culture
Besides making sure that the work environment and team communication are top-notch, it will be useful to think about some bonding group activities outside the office or after working hours.
The exact kind needs to be determined considering team members’ personalities and interests, it can basically be anything from a simple pizza party or trivia night to a paintball tournament or nature hike.
These group activities will definitely bond your team members together and will ensure that there will be no problem with unexpected conflicts and bad communications down the road.
If you have some remote hires it is recommended to try and integrate them into corporate culture too, it will make a cooperation with other members easier. Keep in mind the cultural differences of other countries and try to plan according to them.
7. Control over the team
Of course, you need to monitor your team’s progress constantly and take them accountable for their performance. But too much control during the development process has been proven to be rather harmful to building a strong development team.
Just invest more of your time and energy into planning beforehand and the hiring process. Then, during an active development stage, you can just have trust in your team and their expertise. Just ask for weekly updates and regularly communicate with the project manager, if you did everything right in previous stages, everything will be just perfect.
Final Thoughts
Building a strong development team is not an easy task that requires much of your time and resources, but nowadays you can’t do business without it. Just don’t ignore planning everything possible beforehand, thinking about all the little details of your app, always consult with your team and invest a lot of your time into the hiring process.
Don’t forget that after your team is assembled, your job is far from done. You will need to make sure that all your employees work as a whole mechanism through team-building exercises, after-work activities, and general control over the communication process.
If you did everything right, the development process will be extremely satisfying for all parties involved and you will end up with the app you hoped for.
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