Building a successful software development team is more challenging than it appears to be.
Managers are having difficulty getting their employees to collaborate effectively across all
industries. Finding the best developers is only one step in creating a successful software
development team. To be prepared to scale and meet the challenges brought on by rapid
development, engineering leaders must also ensure that their team’s work is in line with the
objectives of the business.
Some of these objectives are achieved with the aid of strong leadership, but this alone isn’t
sufficient. Tech leaders must also be thoughtful. They must be accountable for the hiring
procedure, onboarding, team building, and guiding principles for their job.
This article will explore the strategies for building an effective software development team
and successfully managing it.
What is a Software Development Team?
To begin, let’s first take a look at what a software development team is. Teams of software
developers collaborate to create a technical project or product. Each software development team
member contributes to this and should be held responsible for their efforts.
Most significantly, cross-functional and self-organized teams should be employed for software
development. The efficacy of the development team as a whole is maximized by organized and
effective work at the individual level.
Development teams must keep the following qualities in mind in order to create this harmony of
team structure and empowerment:
- The team is inherently well-equipped and self-organized
- It has all the required skills to advance the product through all phases of development
Below are some best practices for building a successful software development team.
Select the Right Candidates to Join Your Software Development Team
The hiring process is crucial. The team’s ability to accomplish the project goals depends upon the
competence of each team member.
As a result, you must select the right individuals for your software development team. Consider
employing software engineers who are:
- Responsible and Proactive
Proactive and responsible developers don’t wait around for orders. They are constantly prepared
and eager to take the initiative to complete their work. They are highly responsive and take a
well-planned approach to complete their tasks. As a result, their integration into an already
established software engineering team is easy.
- Analyze Soft Skills Before Hiring
Although it may seem unusual, the success of your software development team is typically
determined by a combination of technical and soft skills. In addition to programming, an allpurpose project needs a team that works well together, communicates effectively, and respects
one another.
- Employ Those Who are Enthusiastic About their Work
Find developers that work on passion projects for fun.
For instance, Google has developed a “20% percent rule” that encourages software employees to
work on personal projects and ideas 20% of the time. According to Business Insider, the policy
improved staff enthusiasm and brought in some brilliant ideas.
Give your Employees Access to Resources and a Pleasant Working Environment
You should think about how you, as a manager, are facilitating your team’s performance if you
want to understand how to create a successful software development team that consistently
goes above and beyond expectations while achieving deadlines. You must ensure that your
software development team has everything they need to perform their job effectively if you
want to create an efficient team. This also entails providing your software developers with a
comfortable working space and all the tools they need to increase their productivity and
creativity.
By giving them access to cutting-edge technology, you may lessen the stress and pressure your
software development teams could feel if they tried to stay organized and productive without
the right tools.
Creating a Plan of Action and Defining the Roles
Each team member needs to understand their contribution to the project. They also need to be
aware of whom to contact in case of any emerging problems and whom to ask for specific
information. As a result, it’s important to specify and clearly define each team member’s project
roles and responsibilities.
Working in a project team involves more than just introducing team members to one another and
assigning roles. Furthermore, team managers must ensure that the team is aware of the project’s
long and short-term goals, important milestones, and deadlines, as well as its purposes and
objectives. Project managers must establish a clear project plan and host an initial meeting with
the project team and stakeholders to go through organizational issues.
Empower the Team
Giving your software development team the freedom to take ownership of their work is another
essential component of their success. A team might suffer if management is entirely top-down
since only the managers would be concerned with the organization’s or team’s objectives.
According to a research paper published by the Academy of Management, teams with a directive
leader initially perform better than teams with an empowering leader. However, teams led by an
empowering leader have stronger performance improvement over time due to increased levels of
team learning, coordination, empowerment, and mental model building, despite having lower
initial performance. The graph above demonstrates the importance of empowering employees in
the long run.
You may encourage ownership in your software development team in the following ways:
- Establish an Atmosphere of Collective Responsibility
You should develop a culture where everyone on the team understands that individual
achievement equals success for the team. Ensuring that information is transparent among team
members is one method to assist with this. This will make it simple for team members to discuss
their progress, identify potential concerns, and come up with solutions as a group.
Likewise, a problem that one software development team member is having should be
recognized as a problem that the entire team must address.
- Provide Updates on the Overall Project Status
The team members will feel more important as they become more informed about the
organization’s operations. They will logically feel more involved in the project’s success if they
understand how their effort affects the wider project or corporate goals.
Giving regular project progress updates to your team helps encourage ownership, which will
ultimately benefit everyone.
Enhance Group Communication
It is impossible to overestimate the advantages of good team communication in the workplace. It
will be easier for developers to ask for assistance or speak up when they have questions or
concerns if there is effective communication within the team (whether it is an in-person, remote,
or hybrid team). This will also help to foster a sense of belonging and strengthen interpersonal
relationships.
According to a survey conducted by the Harvard Business Review, effective internal
communication leads to high employee engagement. As shown below, good internal
communication is thought to be a foundation for employee engagement.
Wrapping Up
Building software development teams may be challenging. A successful software
development team is a challenging endeavor that requires time, effort, and dedication from all
individuals involved.
Housing the appropriate methods and tools allow the entire team to work more effectively and
produce better outcomes.
Exper Labs is your ideal technology partner for all your software development needs. We are a
full-stack software development agency with a highly skilled software development team that
provides impeccable and bespoke solutions tailored perfectly to your needs. Contact us now if
you’re looking to build your offshore software development team.
