Building an Effective Software Development Team: A Complete Guide - Prismetric

Building an Effective Software Development Team: A Complete Guide

A Complete Guide for Building an Effective Software Development Team

There is no magic wand that can build a perfect software development team on its own. Things are difficult unless you handpick the best talent and manage them like a pro. Even further, you get great professionals when you hire from Prismetric – one of the top software development agencies, but without a proper approach and letting us know your requirements, you simply cannot get the best out of the team for your project.

Additionally, you are a businessperson and there is a chance that you might know nothing about building an effective software development team for your own sake! Never mind, we are here to show you the way through a guide.

Only a passionate team of software development specialists can get your product faster and that too without compromising on quality. So, if you don’t want to mess up because you have put tons of your hard-earned bucks into business automation, searching and building a team of software developers makes a lot of business sense. The matter is serious – According to Geneca, 75% of respondents accept that their projects fail due to no confidence in project success.

Effective software development team – how do you define it?

Qualities of Software Development Team

The primary question is what is the most-effective software development team, and how do you confirm the efficiency? Well, the qualities of competent software engineers are many. A group of well-groomed software programmers make an awesome team that works on your project and takes care of all the hassles that otherwise inefficient teams get stuck into.

While it is obvious that you shall have team members with powerful hard skills such as knowledge of programming (coding) in various technologies namely .net, Android, iOS, Java, Python, C+, C#, and so on, here we present soft skills that make them more efficient in carrying out quality work.

Responsible

An efficient player in a remote software development team knows their responsibilities and does not run away from their duties. The responsibilities also include taking care of personal tasks allotted and also the team’s work. Such an attitude helps the member actively participate in problems and concerns even the ones that nobody expected.

Proactive

A seasoned software developer must be just more than a reliable programmer. Proactive engineers walk an extra mile to learn and implement newer technologies and methods. In the pursuit of the best solution, proactivity is the character that takes an individual to the next level of learning.

Spirited

Due to constant changes in the demand of consumers and the market, software product development witnesses an array of changes in scopes and features. You should build a dedicated software development team with a spirit high enough that they adapt to the changes without any hassles and reluctancy.

Open-minded

Competitive and elite software development team members should be open-minded yet bound by a common goal. Broad minds are easy to accept the change in objectives and technologies whenever required. The team that lacks this quality shall spend a lot of time in learning new platforms and are adamant to embrace innovation.

Independent

Hiring and building an efficient team of software development professionals requires you to check the quality of independence in each member. Though they work in a team, an individual’s role and responsibilities contribute majorly in the success of digital product making. They should be working in their own space but must be comfortable in a team environment.

Motivated

The process of software development is complex. A team member of software product development should have the motivation to work towards the success of the project. The software development life cycle comprises several stages and each of them requires utter attention of every person involved. Motivated team members shall have everybody’s concerns in place to come up with logical solutions.

Flexible

As stated above, the project is likely to undergo several changes in its scope and objectives. Employing a most efficient software development team involves choosing the programmers and coders who are flexible enough to get on to the project quickly. In addition, such members with this quality also shift their expertise as and when it is required. They can change their roles in emergency or grave needs.

Who comprises an efficient software development team?

Software Development Team Structure

The team means many members, and many members do not necessarily mean people having the same expertise. There are many types of services offered by IT firms such as software development as a service. In all such verticals, the complex procedure asks for multiple talents and minds to involve and work together to achieve a common goal – the best and customized software or digital product that is not just user friendly, but also scalable (future-ready).

The development team has individual roles and responsibilities as well as collective tasks to achieve and fulfill toward the goal. Though the members of an efficient software development team depend on the nature of the project and its complexity, here we present you the most common hierarchy or team members’ designation with their active participation and roles in the project/software development life cycle.

Business unit manager

A business unit manager is the helmsman of the entire project. The duty of this candidate includes assuring the fact that the business objectives are not missed. The business unit manager contributes toward business success. The key responsibilities include:

  • Initiating the business objectives
  • Executing the probability of project/product
  • Build vision with a strategic plan
  • Define and sign off software development milestones

Product manager

In many cases, especially in small organizations, the business unit manager can serve as a product manager. Nevertheless, in an organized structure, big companies and corporate houses have a distinguished role and responsibility of product managers.

  • Overall supervision of product/project
  • Transforming thoughts into actions
  • Drafting the products’ features and aligning them with the business’ vision and mission

Business analyst

Business analysts bridge the gap between technical aspects and its fiscal reach. Perfect in analyzing tons of data and reports from the past, they help enterprises achieve their goals with a perfect automation through digital products within budget. Product manager and business analyst, together, can get the bespoke software solutions aligned to the business organization’s overall goal.

  • Defining clear goals and features of the software product
  • Plays interpreter’s role in making tech experts and managers understand business objectives
  • Assures smooth flow in business growth through automation

Project manager

Project manager, the backbone of any team of software developers, has their keen eye on every facet of project and product. Their primary job is to ensure that the software development process is going all well, achieving milestones in time, and most importantly, within specified budget. Other key responsibilities of software project managers are:

  • Software project documents and milestones tracking
  • Securing the project and assuring the development team’s dedication
  • Assuring that no lack of dedicated resource ever affects the software development progress
  • Monitoring the team members’ performance
  • Offering experts’ inputs and assistance, if needed
  • Assuring smooth flow of communication between concerned people

Technical lead

Highly sound in technology, the technical lead acts as a bridge among hired software development team members in regard to any query, issue, or concern that is technical. If needed, this software development expert also concerns business and/or project manager to remove hassles, if any.

  • Solid technical support throughout the software development life cycle phases
  • Assuring software coding standard guidelines and protocols
  • Assuring software project security by avoiding breaches
  • Removing any technical hurdle that may affect project milestones while developing software

Software developers/programmers/coders

The most active members of an effective dedicated software development team structure, software developers are the meat of the project. Their skills and dedication directly affect the overall development of the product or deliverables. Choosing the best software developers is the key to the success of any digital product. Here are more roles and responsibilities related to professional software developers.

  • Computer programming as per standard guidelines
  • Assuring feature-rich software
  • Guaranteeing smooth functioning of the product
  • Updating the seniors about the status of project development
  • Meeting deadlines

UI/UX designers

The latest addition to the professional software development team is the UI/UX designers who are responsible for the aesthetics of the software application. Today, much of a software tool’s success depends on its usability because it is the ease of functionalities that make users happy or sad. User interface with lots of complexity is less likely to get adapted by users.

  • Easy to navigate and simple to browse features
  • Assuring user retention through their UI/UX design
  • Concerning managers to assure the user-friendly designing objectives achieved

Quality Analyst or Quality assurance executive

Also known as a software tester, quality assurance executive or quality analyst is the final authority to give a nod to your project. The team of remote software developers has this special person to make sure that the final product is finished as per the business objectives. The quality assurance executive seals the product with ‘OK’ after testing it vigorously.

  • Testing the product with stringent standards
  • Undertaking all quality tests and assuring standards
  • Updating the software testing methods using the latest tools and technologies
  • Aligning with clients and managers

Challenges in building the team of software development experts

Life is not all beer and skittles. There are many impediments you face while building an effective team of resourceful software development engineers. People with different expertise and mindsets, at times, observe clashes among each other. Top of all, managing more people remotely is a big hassle because it requires your constant meddling and meeting. Here are a few noteworthy challenges that you may face in having your own team.

Assessment: Evaluating each skill of remote software development team member and assessing it takes a lot of time

Language barrier: Software development outsourcing to other countries brings language barrier

Time zone: Offshore software development companies located elsewhere have different time zone, and odd time to connect

Culture: Certain native software tool requires sound knowledge of local culture, a big challenge

Dedication: It is difficult to keep watch and assure that the team members of your software product development is exclusively working on your project, and only yours

Remote Development Team management: Challenges and Solutions

How do you build a successful software development team?

Steps To Build a Top Software Development Team

Dedicated software resources are not easy to get. Nevertheless, if you follow simple steps and tips for building a software development team, you can achieve the toughest goal. As a result, you shall get a bespoke digital solution that is catered to your business objectives.

Find the best offshore software development company with Expertise

Well begun is half done. You may refer to an online directory of top custom software development companies to choose the best service provider in a specific region or country. Finest software development firms follow strict norms to recruit software engineers and, therefore, your biggest task is done by them. Choose individual developers and managers as per your requirement from the ideal software development service providers and you are good to go.

Interview and screening of Software development team members with Experience

You can ask the offshore IT outsourcing service provider to list down the potential candidates for your project. If you are acquainted with the tools and technologies, you may specifically ask for a certain pool of talent, or else, business and technology consultants hired at your technology partner, shall help you out.

Once the list of the probable software development team is fixed, you may start interviewing and screening the talent. Without digging deeper, you may simply ask or allot the task to achieve the business goals with the features you expect from the end result of software product development. Alternatively, you can hire a domain expert to test the candidates who shall face the toughest challenges in terms of technical approach.

Separate generalists from specialists

Once the right software development service provider is selected, narrow down your search within the organization. Generalists are the ones who are involved in full-cycle software development or full stack developers and they are jack of all technologies and tools. They have great abilities to evaluate your business objectives and tell you the feasibility.

In the book “Exploring Scrum: the Fundamentals” by DanRawsthorne, the author states that “In general, people can either bespecialists or generalists, and the Scrum Team may be made up of both”.

On the other hand, specialists are the ones who are specific about their expertise. They are the king of one platform or technology and therefore assure you the best quality. You may interview them separately and jot down the qualities you are looking for. Most software development projects need both of them -generalists and specialists. It is worth noting down that if you recruit specialists in your perfect team of software development maestros, they can help generalists get on to track quickly.

Budget Negotiate

Negotiation works in most cases especially when software development companies don’t have a specific hiring model for their services. On the other hand, a renowned software development company shall offer a customized hiring model like dedicated team model wherein you can hire talented resources as per your needs and budget. Choosing and building an efficient team of software development specialists depends on the complexity of the project and the budget you allocate.

In some cases, where the budget is not a concern, hiring domain experts from third parties or companies is advisable. For instance, if you are building a mobile application for laws and courts, hiring a senior lawyer with technical expertise is fruitful.

Contract Finalization

Once the list of seasoned software development experts is finalized for your software project, you can proceed with the legal part- documentation. Various documents are involved like NDAwhile finalizing the contract. The contract finalization step can be considered as the final one before the actual development process commences. Keeping a legal advisor is always beneficial who can verify and confirm the documents. Documentation is always mandatory in order to secure your software development requirements and ideas from any breaches.

Also Understanding Web Development Team Structure

Build an efficient software development team at Prismetric

Hiring the best software developers shall work only when they are supervised by experienced managers. All in all, if you want to hire software development team to execute your digital product smoothly, you don’t need to spend some quality time following the steps mentioned above.

At Prismetric, We do it all for you. Together, the team can do wonders with your product, something you always wanted, and something that you always deserved.

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